academic

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a school, especially one of higher learning.
2. adj. Relating to studies that are liberal or classical rather than technical or vocational.
3. adj. Relating to scholarly performance: a student's academic average.
4. adj. Of or belonging to a scholarly organization.
5. adj. Scholarly to the point of being unaware of the outside world. See Synonyms at pedantic.
6. adj. Based on formal education.
7. adj. Formalistic or conventional.
8. adj. Theoretical or speculative without a practical purpose or intention. See Synonyms at theoretical.
9. adj. Having no practical purpose or use.
10. n. A member of an institution of higher learning.
11. n. One who has an academic viewpoint or a scholarly background.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. [capitalized] Pertaining to the Academy of Athens, or to Plato and his followers, from his having taught there: as, the Academic groves; the Academic school or philosophy.
2. Pertaining to an advanced institution of learning, as a college, a university, or an academy; relating to or connected with higher education: in this and the following senses often, and in the third generally, written academical: as, academic studies; an academical degree.
3. Pertaining to that department of a college or university which is concerned with classical, mathematical, and general literary studies, as distinguished from the professional and scientific departments; designed for general as opposed to special instruction.
4. [U. S.] Of or pertaining to an academy or association of adepts; marked by or belonging to the character or methods of such an academy; hence, conforming to set rules and traditions; speculative; formal; conventional: as, academical proceedings; an academical controversy; an academic figure (in art).
5. n. [capitalized] One who professed to adhere to the philosophy of Plato.
6. n. A student in a college or university: as, “a young academic,” Watts, Imp. of Mind.
7. n. A member of an academy or learned society; an academist or academician.

Wiktionary

1. adj. So scholarly as to be unaware of the outside world; lacking in worldliness.
2. adj. Subscribing to the architectural standards of Vitruvius.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Belonging to the school or philosophy of Plato.
2. adj. Belonging to an academy or other higher institution of learning; scholarly; literary or classical, in distinction from scientific.
3. n. One holding the philosophy of Socrates and Plato; a Platonist.
4. n. A member of an academy, college, or university; an academician.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects
2. adj. hypothetical or theoretical and not expected to produce an immediate or practical result
3. adj. associated with academia or an academy
4. n. an educator who works at a college or university