ignorant
adjective
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The Polite and Not-So-Polite Uses of Ignorant
Ignorant shares a root with the word ignore, one of those etymological connections which appear obvious once they are pointed out, yet remained overlooked by most. Both words come from the Latin ignorare (“to ignore, be ignorant of”). There are several meanings of ignorant, all of which are concerned with a lack of knowledge in some sense; some of these are more insulting than others, and care should be exercised before applying this word to people who you do not wish to offend. Saying “They were ignorant of most of the laws of physics” means that the people in question did not have a specific body of learning. Saying “You are an ignorant person” is possibly describing someone as primitive, crude, or uncivilized.
Synonyms
- analphabetic
- benighted
- dark
- illiterate
- nonliterate
- rude
- simple
- uneducated
- uninstructed
- unlearned
- unlettered
- unread
- unschooled
- untaught
- untutored
Example Sentences
Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated, 30 Oct. 2006 That may be especially true for today's … 13-year-olds, whose own moms and dads grew up largely ignorant of car seats, bike helmets, antibacterial soaps and childproof locks … Nancy Gibbs, Time, 8 Aug. 2005 The joke is that the film was not his work. To refer to a producer's oeuvre is, at least to me, as ignorant as to refer to the oeuvre of a stockbroker. David Mamet, Jafsie and John Henry: Essays, 1999 He is an ignorant old racist. She was ignorant about the dangers of the drug. It was an ignorant mistake. See More Reuel Marc Gerecht, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2022 Marjorie Taylor Greene’s status as Congress’s most ignorant member is at stake in Alaska’s special election, Greene’s aides have acknowledged. Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2022 Warner, along with Carlisle superintendent Moses Friedman, disingenuously cast Thorpe as a simple, ignorant Indian boy who turned professional without their knowledge. Aram Goudsouzian, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2022 Jones treated them as ignorant pawns ripe for his political objectives. Morgan Simon, Forbes, 9 Aug. 2022 And f--- you to the ignorant right wing extremists who want my daughter to have fewer rights than what I was born with. Charmaine Patterson, PEOPLE.com, 28 June 2022 The filmmakers dive into the precarious ease of remaining ignorant to the suffering of others. Holly Jones, Variety, 30 Apr. 2022 MacDonald called the digital blackface characterization ignorant. Alice Hines, Rolling Stone, 26 Apr. 2022 In the movie, characters can take the blue pill to stay ignorant and blissful or swallow the red pill to see reality in all its horrors. Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 11 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
see ignore
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Kids Definition
ignorant
adjective
ignorant
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- uneducated
- dark
- illiterate
- inexperienced
- benighted
- untutored
- unschooled
- untaught
- unlearned
- simple
- rude
- naive
- uninstructed
- unlettered
- innocent
- nonliterate
- foolish
- stupid
- unknowledgeable
- unread
- uncultured
- dumb
- idiotic
- analphabetic
- unsophisticated
- semiliterate
- moronic
- imbecile
- artless
- innumerate
- lowbrow
- unskilled
- philistine
- uncultivated
- functionally illiterate
- naïve
- callow
- silly
- untrained
- witless
- green
- brainless
- imbecilic
- idiotical
- senseless
- raw
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- educated
- knowledgeable
- intelligent
- literate
- brilliant
- smart
- schooled
- experienced
- expert
- well-informed
- trained
- erudite
- lettered
- intellectual
- learned
- well-read
- aware
- scholarly
- cultured
- sophisticated
- familiar
- highbrow
- cultivated
- acquainted
- polymathic
- polymath
- polyhistoric
Synonyms & Similar Words
- unaware
- oblivious
- uninformed
- clueless
- unmindful
- unacquainted
- unknowing
- unconscious
- uneducated
- nescient
- unwitting
- incognizant
- innocent
- unschooled
- untaught
- insensible
- in the dark
- inattentive
- heedless
- absentminded
- abstracted
- absent
- inconscient
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- aware
- conscious
- informed
- cognizant
- acquainted
- knowing
- conversant
- mindful
- grounded
- educated
- knowledgeable
- taught
- hip
- witting
- schooled
- observant
- sensitive
- heedful
- plugged-in
- up-to-date
- sentient
- au courant
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of ignorant are illiterate, unlearned, unlettered, and untutored. While all these words mean "not having knowledge," ignorant may imply a general condition or it may apply to lack of knowledge or awareness of a particular thing.
Although the words illiterate and ignorant have much in common, illiterate applies to either an absolute or a relative inability to read and write.
While the synonyms unlearned and ignorant are close in meaning, unlearned suggests ignorance of advanced subjects.
The meanings of unlettered and ignorant largely overlap; however, unlettered implies ignorance of the knowledge gained by reading.
The words untutored and ignorant can be used in similar contexts, but untutored may imply lack of schooling in the arts and ways of civilization.