Meaning & use
international scholar
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who studies or teaches at a university or research institution in a country other than their own, often temporarily.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a' or a plural: 'an international scholar,' 'international scholars.'
Patterns
- an international scholar at a university
- an international scholar from a country
- a visiting international scholar
The university hosts international scholars from over thirty countries each year.
As an international scholar, she spent two semesters researching in Japan.
The conference brought together international scholars to discuss climate policy.
Word forms
| plural | international scholars |
|---|
Common combinations
- visiting international scholar
- He came as a visiting international scholar for one academic year.
- international scholar program
- The international scholar program provides funding for research abroad.
- host an international scholar
- Our department will host an international scholar next semester.
- international scholar exchange
- The two universities signed an international scholar exchange agreement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- visiting scholar
- Similar, but 'visiting scholar' emphasizes the temporary nature of the stay, while 'international scholar' emphasizes the person's foreign origin.
- foreign academic
- A broader term that can include teachers and researchers, but 'foreign' can sound less neutral than 'international.'
Word family
- scholarly adjective
- Relating to serious academic study: 'a scholarly article.'
- scholarship noun
- Academic study or a financial award for students: 'She received a scholarship.'
Commonly confused: international scholar or international student?
international scholar vs international student
An international student is enrolled in a degree program, while an international scholar is usually a researcher or teacher, often with a doctorate.
Practice
The university invited several international ______ to present their research.
Choose one answer.
The plural 'scholars' is needed because 'several' requires a plural noun. 'Scholar' is singular, 'scholarly' is an adjective, and 'scholarship' is a noun meaning a grant or academic study.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “international scholar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.