- Main Entry:
- ig·no·rant
- Pronunciation:
-
\ˈig-n(ə-)rənt\
- Function:
- adjective
- Date:
- 14th century
1 a: destitute of knowledge or education <an ignorant society>; also : lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified <parents ignorant of modern mathematics> b: resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or intelligence <ignorant errors>2: unaware, uninformed
— ig·no·rant·ly adverb
— ig·no·rant·ness noun
synonyms ignorant,
illiterate,
unlettered,
untutored,
unlearned mean not having knowledge.
ignorant may imply a general condition or it may apply to lack of knowledge or awareness of a particular thing
<an ignorant fool> <ignorant of nuclear physics>.
illiterate applies to either an absolute or a relative inability to read and write
<much of the population is still illiterate>.
unlettered implies ignorance of the knowledge gained by reading
<an allusion meaningless to the unlettered>.
untutored may imply lack of schooling in the arts and ways of civilization
<strange monuments built by an untutored people>.
unlearned suggests ignorance of advanced subjects
<poetry not for academics but for the unlearned masses>.
