benighted

be·night·ed

adjective \bi-ˈnī-təd, bē-\

Definition of BENIGHTED

1

: overtaken by darkness or night

2

: existing in a state of intellectual, moral, or social darkness : unenlightened

— be·night·ed·ly adverb

— be·night·ed·ness noun

Examples of BENIGHTED

1. <the poor benighted souls who do not know the joys of reading>

First Known Use of BENIGHTED

15th century

Related to BENIGHTED

Synonyms

analphabetic, ignorant, dark, illiterate, nonliterate, rude, simple, uneducated, uninstructed, unlearned, unlettered, unread, unschooled, untaught, untutored

Antonyms

educated, knowledgeable, lettered, literate, schooled, well-informed, well-read

Related Words

functionally illiterate, innumerate, semiliterate, unknowledgeable; artless, lowbrow, philistine, uncultivated, uncultured; callow, green, inexperienced, innocent, naive (or naïve); unsophisticated; raw, unskilled, untrained; brainless, dumb, idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), moronic, stupid, witless; foolish, senseless, silly

Near Antonyms

brilliant, intelligent, smart; experienced, expert, trained; erudite, learned, polyhistoric, polymath (or polymathic), scholarly; cultivated, cultured, highbrow, intellectual; sophisticated; acquainted, aware, familiar

Rhymes with BENIGHTED

attrited, clear-sighted, farsighted, foresighted, nearsighted, sharp-sighted, shortsighted, skylighted, united