literati means well-educated, literary people; intellectuals who are interested in literature.
literati is pronounced /ˌlɪt.əˈɹɑː.tiː/.
Why “literati” is a great word
Men and women of extensive learning and critical taste, particularly those whose intellectual life is centered on the arts of letters and books. From the Latin *līterātī*, plural of *līterātus* ("lettered, literate, learned"), first recorded in English use 1615–25. Unlike the broader "intelligentsia," whose leadership extends across all spheres of culture, or the mocking "illiterati," its direct and derisive opposite, the literati are defined by a specific, curatorial devotion to the written artifact. They are the quiet rustle of vellum in a lamplit study, the meticulous collation of variant readings in a dusty archive, and the hushed, fervent debate over a cadence in a poet’s line—the keepers of a conversation that spans centuries, acutely aware that they, too, will one day become its subject.
Etymology
From Latin līterātī, plural of līterātus (“lettered, literate”).
noun
- Well-educated, literary people; intellectuals who are interested in literature.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.