Which adjectives can describe 'intellect' and 'education'?

Question

I use 'great' too many times, I would need something more lively and original. I have a sentence like this:

In order to acquire this, one does not need a great intellect, nor a ... education Thank you!

Super-intellect; https://www.lexico.com/definition/superintelligent; and from the usage 'highly educated', I think high education should also sound OK. May be, others can say better ones. — Ram Pillai, Dec 02 '20 at 09:00
super-intellect is a bit colloquial for the language register I need. But high education is a good idea. Thanks a lot! — fev, Dec 02 '20 at 09:40
A *strong intellect* is a fairly common collocation. But this is essentially Off Topic "writing advice". Note that "strong intellect" doesn't necessarily imply "well-educated". — FumbleFingers, Dec 02 '20 at 11:30
Thank you, I like 'strong intellect'. The fact that I juxtapose 'strong intellect' and 'high (now I am tempted to put 'good') education' does not necessarily imply that they are synonyms does it... so now my sentence looks like that: In order to acquire this, one does not need a strong intellect, nor a good education. — fev, Dec 02 '20 at 13:59
Agree with FF (writing advice, also lack of research shown). But 'In order to acquire this, one does not need a vast / formidable intellect, nor a private / university / first-class / an excellent education (assuming attributive nouns are not for some reason inadmissible). — Edwin Ashworth, Dec 07 '20 at 17:38
@FF: could you direct me where I should look to understand what is on and off topic on this site, it is not always clear to me. Is not word choice a proper tag? — fev, Dec 07 '20 at 17:46
@Edwin: Good suggestions. How can I find out some guiding lines about is off topic here? — fev, Dec 07 '20 at 18:04
'Something more lively and original' is a request for style guidance, not grammaticality, the meaning of a particular word or string in context, punctuation etc. Answers would be almost necessarily subjective. 'A word meaning envy but without the "malice" component' would be more suitable, but should be accompanied by references to lists of synonyms (in thesauri, say), showing what didn't (or did!) work. The Help Center gives essential guidance. — Edwin Ashworth, Dec 07 '20 at 19:04
Regarding what is on-topic and off-topic here, have a look at the “Asking” entries at the link: [help]. — Lawrence, Dec 09 '20 at 23:49
Choose your metaphor. Is intellect one-dimensional, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional? Is it a muscle? Is it a machine? Is it a thing or is it alive? Since intellect is entirely imaginary, in the sense that the word has no ostensive meaning, any adjective used to describe it is gonna be metaphorical. If you want to have some effect with your words, choose your metaphors carefully and employ them consistently and strategically. — John Lawler, Dec 09 '20 at 23:55

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 07 '20 at 18:21

2

you could say "higher intellect and superior education." Your sentence could look like this: In order to acquire this, one does not need a superior intellect, nor higher education.

answered Dec 07 '20 at 18:21

Angelyn

21

Yeah, "superior" works for both. – Hot Licks Dec 08 '20 at 17:06

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 08 '20 at 17:00

One strategy for adding originality to your adjective selection is to choose one that pertains to the quality that you're evoking. Great can attach to so many nouns and noun phrases. More verbose versions of great (like excellent) are more emphatic but no more specific. However, a word like sagacious pertains specifically to discernment:

2.a. Gifted with acuteness of mental discernment; having special aptitude for the discovery of truth; penetrating and judicious in the estimation of character and motives, and in the devising of means for the accomplishment of ends; shrewd. (OED)

So someone who has a sagacious intellect is shrewd and can likely plan out a large project. They are not likely to be fooled by appearances.

Whether that word works or not, you can use a search strategy of going between synonyms and near-synonyms in a thesaurus, seeking adjectives specific to mental faculties, in order to find the precise emphasis you want.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 09 '20 at 23:14

Consider incisive for intellect and extensive for education, as in:

... one does not need an incisive intellect, nor an extensive education

I personally like these choices for their alliteration. Examples of their usage in the wild below:

He embarked on a 90-minute discourse that showcased his incisive intellect, his rambling imagination, and his almost pathological attention to detail.
_{LA Times}

Even to work in museum as a guide requires extensive education and training.
_{NY Times}

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 09 '20 at 19:19

0

In order to acquire this, one does not need a A intellect, nor a B education

A) powerful, strong, mighty, sharp

B) college, tertiary, academic, advanced, broad

answered Dec 09 '20 at 19:19

Grand Torini

471

Centaurus · Answer 5 · 2020-12-10T00:03:38.720

0

"brilliant" seems like a good fit.
(one does not need a brilliant education)

outstanding, exceptional, splendid, magnificent: having or showing unusual and impressive intelligence: a brilliant mind; a brilliant solution to the problem.

. Bertrand Russell had a brilliant mind.

. Mozart showed his brilliance at an early age.

. To leave half and hour earlier was a brilliant idea.

. "the defective moral training of many persons in the upper classes who have had a brilliant education".¹

. "From 1833 to 1840 she received a brilliant education according to the ideas of the bourgeoisie." ²

edited Dec 10 '20 at 00:03

answered Dec 09 '20 at 19:46

Centaurus

50,047

You know, I actually like more impressive than anything that has been said here... Would brilliant apply to education? – fev Dec 09 '20 at 19:49

Which adjectives can describe 'intellect' and 'education'?

5 Answers5