Intelligentsia

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ɪntÉ›lɪˈdÍ¡Ê’É›ntsɪə/
• RP IPA: /ɪntÉ›lɪˈɡɛntsɪə/

Origin

From Russian интеллигенция (intelligéncija) or Polish inteligencja, from Latin intellegentia ("intelligence").

Full definition of intelligentsia

Noun

1. The intellectual élite of a society (especially in nineteenth-century Poland, in Russia and later the Soviet Union).

Related terms

• unintelligentsia