1
as in geek
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits
was such a nerd in college that she spent Saturday nights at the library
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intellectual
a person with strong intellectual interests
an unlikely romance between a nerd and a campus beauty queen
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nerd
Cardenas is tall and handsome, one of those men who manages to straddle the jock-nerd divide, and whose behavior can be read as either supremely confident or socially oblivious.
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James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Yes, the red carpet that stretches along the Croisette is famed for its archaic dress code, leaving Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson, et al at the mercy of prescriptivist film nerds for daring to participate in the sheer and sexy.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 28 Dec. 2025
The rest of the beauty comes from the ocean’s adorable creatures, which are enthusiastically studied by a group of lovable coral nerds with an infectious passion.
—Tomris Laffly, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Dec. 2025
Truly, Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s epic sounds like a feast for cinephiles and classics nerds alike.
—Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerd
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerd
Noun
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Crumb, at the time, would be dressed unremarkably casually, in banal pants and sweater, with thick glasses, looking more or less like a geek.—
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The pissed off punk rockers, the hopelessly antisocial geeks, and the kids doing drugs.—
Noun
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Should be a fascinating account from one of our most important public intellectuals.—
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The City of Lights became a refuge for Black artists and intellectuals, if not an uncomplicated one.—
Cite this Entry
“Nerd.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerd. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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