Skip to main content
professorial

professorial

7 7.3
Having the calm, serious manner of a university teacher
  • adjective
  • /ˌprɒfɪˈsɔːriəl/
translation icon : profesoral
  • His professorial demeanor commanded respect in the classroom.
  • professorial qualities
  • professorial chair
  • professorial rank

I went into that professorial mode where you just kind of ask questions ad nauseam.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Peter Childs is the Professorial Lead in Engineering Design at Imperial College, London.

    Academic text (2011)
  • In fact, quick progression to the professorial level is rare.

    Academic text (2018)
  • And she is the first Black woman to be appointed to a professorial chair in the history of the United Kingdom.

  • Table 2: Student Comments Related to Professorial Personal Qualities

    Academic text (2008)
  • I went into that professorial mode where you just kind of ask questions ad nauseam.

  • On the stage below, a small bald man with a professorial air stood at a lectern.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "Speak up!" The voice, professorial and testy, goaded Jonathan into speech.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • In the back sits Vince Garwood, now 60, wearing a professorial jacket and tie.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • As expressions of professorial absentmindedness, these quirks were an amusement to those who knew of them.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Numerous studies have found that certain impressions of professorial conduct can augment or dampen student cheating.

    Academic text (2004)

Synonyms

teacherly
vsprofessorial
1 4.9

Showing the calm, clear way a teacher explains things

is more specific to senior academic manner than general classroom style
academical
vsprofessorial
  • Archaic
9.9

Relating to schools or universities and the study done there

focuses on characteristic manner and behavior rather than institutional scope

Antonyms

Not showing serious thought or interest in ideas

How Professorial

pedantic
13 8.1
didactic
  • Literature
5 8.1
professorial
7 7.3
scholarly
  • Formal
47 5.6
academic
383 4.2

Surface Forms

professorial positive

Morphology

professorial = professor (transparent) = professor + ial

Formed by adding the adjectival suffix '-ial' to 'professor'; meaning 'relating to a professor' is directly inferable.

Etymology

The word professorial comes from professor and the verb profess, which once meant 'to declare' or 'say openly' about what you know. So professorial describes a calm, teacher-like, formal way of speaking or behaving that shows knowledge.