Adjacent Words

Intelligence definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INTEL'LIGENCE, n. [L. intelligentia, from intelligo, to understand. This verb is probably composed of in, inter, or intus, within, and lego to collect. The primary sense of understand is generally to take or hold, as we say, to take one's ideas or meaning.]
1. Understanding; skill.
2. Notice; information communicated; an account of things distant or before unknown. Intelligence may be transmitted by messengers, by letters, by signals or by telegraphs.
3. Commerce of acquaintance; terms of intercourse. Good intelligence between men is harmony. So we say, there is a good understanding between persons, when they have the same views, or are free from discord.
4. A spiritual being; as a created intelligence. It is believed that the universe is peopled with innumerable superior intelligences.
INTEL'LIGENCE, v.t. To inform; to instruct. [Little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience [ant: stupidity]
2: a unit responsible for gathering and interpreting information about an enemy [syn: intelligence, intelligence service, intelligence agency]
3: secret information about an enemy (or potential enemy); "we sent out planes to gather intelligence on their radar coverage" [syn: intelligence, intelligence information]
4: information about recent and important events; "they awaited news of the outcome" [syn: news, intelligence, tidings, word]
5: the operation of gathering information about an enemy [syn: intelligence, intelligence activity, intelligence operation]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin intelligentia, from intelligent-, intelligens intelligent Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations ; reason; also the skilled use of reason (2) the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests) b. Christian Science the basic eternal quality of divine Mind c. mental acuteness ; shrewdness 2. a. an intelligent entity; especially angel b. intelligent minds or mind <cosmic intelligence> 3. the act of understanding ; comprehension 4. a. information, news b. information concerning an enemy or possible enemy or an area; also an agency engaged in obtaining such information 5. the ability to perform computer functions

U.S. Military Dictionary

The product resulting from the collection, processing, integration, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of available information concerning foreign nations, hostile or potentially hostile forces or elements, or areas of actual or potential operations. The term is also applied to the activity which results in the product and to the organizations engaged in such activity. See also acoustic intelligence; all-source intelligence; basic intelligence; combat intelligence; communications intelligence; critical intelligence; current intelligence; departmental intelligence; domestic intelligence; electronic intelligence; electro-optical intelligence; foreign intelligence; foreign instrumentation signals intelligence; general military intelligence; human resources intelligence; imagery intelligence; joint intelligence; laser intelligence; measurement and signature intelligence; medical intelligence; military intelligence; national intelligence; nuclear intelligence; open-source intelligence; operational intelligence; political intelligence; radar intelligence; scientific and technical intelligence; security intelligence; strategic intelligence; tactical intelligence; target intelligence; technical intelligence; technical operational intelligence; terrain intelligence. (JP 2-0)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a the intellect; the understanding. b (of a person or an animal) quickness of understanding; wisdom. 2 a the collection of information, esp. of military or political value. b people employed in this. c archaic information; news. 3 an intelligent or rational being. Phrases and idioms: intelligence department a usu. government department engaged in collecting esp. secret information. intelligence quotient a number denoting the ratio of a person's intelligence to the normal or average. intelligence test a test designed to measure intelligence rather than acquired knowledge. Derivatives: intelligential adj. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L intelligentia (as INTELLIGENT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Intelligence In*tel"li*gence, n. [F. intelligence, L. intelligentia, intellegentia. See Intelligent.] 1. The act or state of knowing; the exercise of the understanding. 2. The capacity to know or understand; readiness of comprehension; the intellect, as a gift or an endowment. And dimmed with darkness their intelligence. --Spenser. 3. Information communicated; news; notice; advice. Intelligence is given where you are hid. --Shak. 4. Acquaintance; intercourse; familiarity. [Obs.] He lived rather in a fair intelligence than any friendship with the favorites. --Clarendon. 5. Knowledge imparted or acquired, whether by study, research, or experience; general information. I write as he that none intelligence Of meters hath, ne flowers of sentence. --Court of Love. 6. An intelligent being or spirit; -- generally applied to pure spirits; as, a created intelligence. --Milton. The great Intelligences fair That range above our mortal state, In circle round the blessed gate, Received and gave him welcome there. --Tennyson. Intelligence office, an office where information may be obtained, particularly respecting servants to be hired. Syn: Understanding; intellect; instruction; advice; notice; notification; news; information; report.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Intelligence is the quality of being intelligent or clever. She's a woman of exceptional intelligence. 2. Intelligence is the ability to think, reason, and understand instead of doing things automatically or by instinct. Nerve cells, after all, do not have intelligence of their own. 3. Intelligence is information that is gathered by the government or the army about their country's enemies and their activities. Why was military intelligence so lacking?

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

in-tel'-i-gens (bin): Occurs only once in the King James Version as the translation of bin, "to discriminate" (frequently translated "to understand"), in Da 11:30 the King James Version, "(he shall) have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant," the Revised Version (British and American) renders "have regard unto them." "Intelligence" occurs in 2 Macc 3:9 the King James Version, in the sense of information (so the Revised Version (British and American)).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Information, knowledge, acquired knowledge. 2. News, tidings, advice, notice, notification, instruction. 3. Spirit, spiritual being. 4. Penetration, acumen, quickness, brightness, quick understanding, discernment, clear apprehension.

Moby Thesaurus

Vernunft, account, acquaintance, acumen, advice, alertness, announcement, apprehension, aptitude, aptness, astuteness, atua, blue book, brain, brains, briefing, brightness, broadcast journalism, bugging, bulletin, capacity, clairvoyance, cleverness, cloak-and-dagger work, command, common sense, communication, communique, comprehension, conception, conceptualization, consciousness, corpus, counterespionage, counterintelligence, daemon, data, datum, demon, directory, discernment, discourse of reason, discretion, discursive reason, dispatch, docility, dope, educability, electronic surveillance, enlightenment, espial, espionage, esprit, evidence, evil spirits, experience, expertise, facility, facts, factual base, factual information, familiarity, familiarization, findings, following, foreknowledge, gen, general information, genius, grasp, gray matter, grip, guidebook, handout, hard information, head, headpiece, ideation, impressionability, incidental information, info, information, inside, insight, instruction, intellect, intellection, intellectual, intellectual faculty, intelligence bureau, intelligence service, intelligence work, intimacy, journalism, judgment, keenness, ken, know-how, knowing, knowledge, light, low-down, malleability, mastery, mens, mental capacity, mental grasp, mentality, mention, message, military intelligence, mind, moldability, mother wit, motivation, naval intelligence, news, news agency, news medium, news service, newsiness, newsletter, newsmagazine, newspaper, newsworthiness, notice, notification, nous, observation, perception, percipience, perspicaciousness, perspicacity, plasticity, pliability, poop, power of reason, practical knowledge, precognition, prehension, presentation, press association, private knowledge, privity, promotional material, proof, psyche, publication, publicity, quickness, radio, ratio, ratio cognoscendi, rationality, readiness, reason, reasoning, reasoning faculty, receptivity, release, report, reportage, sagacity, savvy, secret police, secret service, self-knowledge, sense, shadowing, shrewdness, sidelight, smarts, specter, spirit, spying, stakeout, statement, supernatural being, surveillance, susceptibility, tailing, teachability, teachableness, technic, technics, technique, telegraph agency, television, the dope, the fourth estate, the goods, the know, the press, the scoop, tidings, trailing, trainableness, transmission, understanding, white book, white paper, willingness, wire service, wiretap, wiretapping, wisdom, wise man, wit, word