Meanings
cerebral1
comparative more cerebral · superlative most cerebral
- relationalanatomyOf or relating to the brain, cerebrum, or cerebral cortex.
- Intellectual rather than emotional or physical.
Certainly, “Capital” is a cerebral read and the dangers of the world Marx lived in are not all the same as ours.
2024 September 19, James Miller, “Karl Marx, Weirder Than Ever”, in The New York Times Book Review, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC1 more example
His cerebral candidacy, inspired by European and North American political and economic philosophers, and his very appearance, with his light-colored skin, trim physique and penchant for preppy sweaters, contrasted with an electorate largely made up of impoverished Quechua-speaking people and Spanish-speaking mestizos.
2025 April 13, Simon Romero, “Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel-Winning Peruvian Novelist, Dies at 89”, in The New York Times
cerebral2
comparative more cerebral · superlative most cerebral
- obsoletehuman sciencesRetroflex.
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveinvolving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
cerebral · adjective
- Latincerebrum“a brain”
- Frenchcérébral
- Englishcerebral
Borrowing from French cérébral, from Latin cerebrum (“a brain”); equivalent to cerebrum + -al.
Full word history & related roots →cerebral · adjective
- Sanskritमूर्धन्य“pertaining to the head”
- Englishcerebral
Semantic loan from Sanskrit मूर्धन्य (mūrdhanya, “pertaining to the head”).
More words from Sanskrit
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُخِّيّ
- مُخِّيّ (muḵḵiyy)of or relating to the brain
Bulgarian церебра́лен
- церебра́лен (cerebrálen)of or relating to the brain
Catalan cerebral, cerebral
- cerebralof or relating to the brain
- cerebralintellectual
Chinese Mandarin 大腦的 /大脑的
- 大腦的 /大脑的 (dànǎo de)of or relating to the brain
Czech cerebrální, mozkový
- cerebrálníof or relating to the brain
- mozkovýof or relating to the brain
- intelektuálníintellectual
Danish cerebral
- cerebralof or relating to the brain
Dutch cerebraal
- cerebraalof or relating to the brain
Esperanto cerba
- cerbaof or relating to the brain
Finnish aivoperäinen, serebraalinen
- aivoperäinenof or relating to the brain
- serebraalinenof or relating to the brain
- aivo-of or relating to the brain
- älyllinenintellectual
French cérébral, cérébral
- cérébralof or relating to the brain
- cérébralintellectual
German zerebral, cerebral
- zerebralof or relating to the brain
- cerebralof or relating to the brain
- zerebral-of or relating to the brain
- Gehirn-of or relating to the brain
- Hirn-of or relating to the brain
- Cerebro-of or relating to the brain
- intellektuellintellectual
- geistigintellectual
- kopfigintellectual
- verkopftintellectual
Greek εγκεφαλικός, πνευματικός
- εγκεφαλικός (egkefalikós)of or relating to the brain
- πνευματικός (pnevmatikós)intellectual
- νοητικός (noïtikós)intellectual
Indonesian berotak
- berotakintellectual
Irish ceirbreach, intleachtúil
- ceirbreachof or relating to the brain
- intleachtúilintellectual
- meabhrachintellectual
Italian cerebrale
- cerebraleof or relating to the brain
Latin cerebrālis
- cerebrālisof or relating to the brain
Norwegian cerebral
- cerebralof or relating to the brain
Polish mózgowy, intelektualny
- mózgowyof or relating to the brain
- intelektualnyintellectual
Portuguese cerebral
- cerebralof or relating to the brain
Romanian cerebral
- cerebralof or relating to the brain
Russian мозгово́й, церебра́льный
- мозгово́й (mozgovój)of or relating to the brain
- церебра́льный (cerebrálʹnyj)of or relating to the brain
- интеллектуа́льный (intellektuálʹnyj)intellectual
Slovak cerebrálny, mozgový
- cerebrálnyof or relating to the brain
- mozgovýof or relating to the brain
Spanish cerebral
- cerebralof or relating to the brain
Swedish cerebral
- cerebralof or relating to the brain
Turkish beyinsel, entelektüel
- beyinselof or relating to the brain
- entelektüelintellectual
Ukrainian мозкови́й, церебра́льний
- мозкови́й (mozkovýj)of or relating to the brain
- церебра́льний (cerebrálʹnyj)of or relating to the brain
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with cerebral
Cite this entry
cerebral. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cerebral
“cerebral.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cerebral. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cerebral,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cerebral.
Source: cerebral on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.