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My ideal sentence is:

My college years represent a __________ journey through which I hope to attain plentiful wisdom about the world.

One candidate is epistemic. Thus,

My college years represent an epistemic journey through which I hope to attain plentiful wisdom about the world.

But this doesn't hit quite right because the purpose of my journey is not about understanding the nature of knowledge (which the field of epistemology is focused on), but to simply attain knowledge. Hence, epistemic seems too academic.

Is there a better word for this?

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  • 2
    ... a learning journey.
    – Nigel J
    Commented Sep 5, 2020 at 21:27
  • “Plentiful wisdom”! I’d fix that before you start your “journey”. If you come to my college you might learn to write plain English. I suggest “I hope to be educated while I am at university.” Cut the “represent” and “attain” nonsense.
    – David
    Commented Sep 15, 2020 at 20:29
  • @NigelJ — You’re joking!
    – David
    Commented Sep 15, 2020 at 20:31
  • @David 'Attaining knowledge' = learning.
    – Nigel J
    Commented Sep 16, 2020 at 7:59

3 Answers 3

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You might consider completely omitting the contemplated adjective. So the sentence would be:

"My college years represent a journey through which I hope to attain plentiful wisdom about the world."

The attaining of knowledge is implicit in your sentence, so not in obvious need of a modifier. Just a thought.

1
  • I find it interesting that "You don't need a word there at all" is so often a good answer to single word requests.
    – JeffUK
    Commented Sep 15, 2020 at 9:18
1

Intellectual fits the sentence but not exactly the question

Based on your use of “wisdom” in the sentence, you view these years for the attainment of knowledge and how to use it.

Intellectual:

appealing to or engaging the intellect: intellectual pursuits.

Intellect:

the power or faculty of the mind by which one knows or understands, as distinguished from that by which one feels and that by which one wills; the understanding; the faculty of thinking and acquiring knowledge.

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Perhaps a little too obvious in this context, but the following word hits the nail on the head:

academic, adj.
"Relating to education and scholarship"
source

My college years represent an academic journey through which I hope to attain plentiful wisdom about the world.

Other candidates might include:

  • studious: emphasizes study and reading more than it does the act of learning in a general sense.
  • scholarly: also emphasizes study, but of a more structural and deliberate nature.
  • scholastic: relating to schooling and education rather than learning, i.e. systemic and institutionalized learning.

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