Meaning & use
academic
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to schools, colleges, universities, study, teaching, or research.
Grammar: Often stands before a noun: academic year; it can also follow linking verbs such as be or seem.
Patterns
- academic year
- academic success
- academic research
- be academic
She improved her academic record after joining the study group.
The university has strong academic links with hospitals.
nouncountable
A person who teaches or does research at a college or university.
Grammar: Takes a plural: academics are scholars; do not use it for any student.
Patterns
- a leading academic
- academics in the field
The report was signed by thirty academics from six countries.
He became an academic after years in industry.
adjectiveafter a verbfigurative
Based only on theory and no longer having practical effect because the real outcome is decided.
Grammar: Common after linking verbs: the question is academic; it is less natural before nouns in this sense.
Patterns
- the point is academic
- academic now that
Arguing about the route is academic now that the flight has left.
Whether we approve is academic; the board has already voted.
Word forms
| plural | academics |
|---|
Common combinations
- academic year
- The academic year starts in September.
- academic performance
- Regular sleep can support academic performance.
- academic freedom
- The journal defends academic freedom.
- academic journal
- Her article appeared in an academic journal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scholarly
- Scholarly emphasizes careful research and citation, while academic can simply mean connected with education.
- educational
- Educational describes learning in general; academic is more tied to formal study and institutions.
- theoretical
- Theoretical fits the figurative sense when practical relevance is missing, but not every academic matter is theoretical.
Opposites
Word family
- academia noun
- The world of universities and scholarly research.
- academically adverb
- In a way related to school or university achievement.
- academy noun
- A school, college, or society for advanced study or training.
Commonly confused: academic or academia? academic or epidemic?
academic vs academia
Academia is the institution or social world of scholars; an academic is one person within it.
academic vs epidemic
Spelling and sound differ: epidemic means a widespread disease outbreak.
Practice
Choose the best sentence.
Choose one answer.
Academic before answer means connected with study or research. After a final decision, the figurative sense would need a linking structure such as “the answer is academic,” and epidemic/academy do not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “academic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.