1. to engage in or apply intellectual analysis; to think about something in an abstract or theoretical way
Usage: British spelling; American English typically uses 'intellectualize'; often used with 'about' or 'over'
2. to make something intellectual or abstract; to treat a practical or emotional matter in an overly theoretical way
Usage: often implies excessive or detached analysis

Examples

• She tends to intellectualise every problem instead of taking action.
• Don't intellectualise your feelings; sometimes it's better to just express them.
• The professor intellectualised the historical events in a way that lost the human element.
• He intellectualised about the meaning of art for hours.
• Rather than intellectualising the issue, we should focus on practical solutions.
• They intellectualised the conflict until no one remembered what they were arguing about.