mental

mental, intellectual, psychic, intelligent, cerebral can mean of, relating to, or characteristic of that sum total of powers or functions called variously mind, intellect, soul, psyche, or brain (compare MIND 2).

In general mental applies directly to what has to do with the mind as a real or as a purely theoretical entity

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his mental life

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a mental state

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mental diseases

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mental processes

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because every experience is constituted by interaction . . . between a self and its world, it is not itself either merely physical nor merely mental— Dewey

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even if he dreads no physical betrayal, he suffers ... at every hint of mental estrangement— Santayana

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Intellectual differs from mental not only in its reference to the intellect, and therefore to such higher powers of the mind as the comprehension of the abstract or difficult and the ability to reason, but also because it is directly applicable to persons, their utterances, acts, and qualities

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an intellectual person

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It often carries an implied contrast to emotional and suggests an attachment to study and reflection

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all the intellectual qualities of the liberal mind—detachment, subtlety, complexity, understatement, irony— Lerner

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the detective story, as created by Poe, is something as specialized and as intellectual as a chess problem— T. S. Eliot

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it was only on her intellectual side that Elizabeth touched the England of her day. All its moral aspects were simply dead to her— J. R. Green

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Psychic implies a relation to the inner self or psyche and guides the attention away from notions of the physical, physiological, or organic

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you keep talking about maladies of the mind and soul. I don't accept the idea of psychic diseases analogous to mental diseases— Mackenzie

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the humorist was a type that pioneer society required in order to maintain its psychic equilibrium— Brooks

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Intelligent (see also INTELLIGENT 2) implies such a degree of mental power in a person or animal as to make possible appraisal of a situation and formulation of sound or reasonable decisions; it is often contrasted with stupid or silly

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men are intelligent beings

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some dogs are more intelligent than others

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intelligent self-interest

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friends, who were a little more intelligent and would understand— Hersey

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Cerebral basically calls to mind the higher centers of the brain and may suggest intellectual activity or inclination especially as being coolly analytical and withdrawn from the sensuous and emotional aspects of the mental life

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the musical expression is sufficiently cerebral not to inflame anyone's libido— Kolodin

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too cerebral a style, too baldly intellectual, to be wholly satisfactory— Brand Blanshard

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doubtful if he ever can become a popular hero. He is too detached, too cerebral, and too rigid— Gunther

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