benighted

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adjective be·night·ed \ bi-ˈnī-təd , bē- \

Definition of benighted

1 :overtaken by darkness or night

Benighted travellers … have seen his midnight candle glimmering.
—W. B. Yeats

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

spreading their message among these poor benighted people

a strange, benighted country

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benightedly

adverb

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benightedness

noun

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Examples of benighted in a Sentence

the poor benighted souls who do not know the joys of reading

Recent Examples of benighted from the Web

Eventually, months later, about three quarters of the benighted area has power for at least ten hours a day.

— The Economist, "The disaster that could follow from a flash in the sky," 13 July 2017
All problematic, as these benighted films contain no cowboys.

— kyle smith, National Review, "If You Like Art, Don’t Take the Bechdel Test," 10 July 2017
The article framed Louis alongside JD Vance, whose rust belt memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, chronicles his upbringing in a benighted part of Ohio.

— samuel metz, New Republic, "Édouard Louis’s Novel of the French Working Class," 8 June 2017
For this city dweller is no slick deceiver out of Molière or Dickens, but a benighted idiot in his own right.

— ben brantley, New York Times, "Review: In ‘The Government Inspector,’ Dumb and Dumber, Deliciously," 1 June 2017
Hall’s real-life husband, Clifton Hall, also is moving in the rather thankless role of Diana’s well-meaning but benighted husband, Dan.

— margaret gray, latimes.com, "At East West Players, the gut-wrenching emotion of 'Next to Normal' transcends race," 26 May 2017
If Friday’s events left you shaken by President Donald Trump’s benighted view of America and his vision to transform it, Saturday’s were the antidote.

— mercury news editorial board, The Mercury News, "Editorial: Women’s March inspired, empowered — but what next?," 21 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'benighted.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of benighted

15th century

benighted Synonyms

BENIGHTED Defined for English Language Learners

benighted

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adjective

Definition of benighted for English Language Learners

: having no knowledge or education

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benighted

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benightedly

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First Known Use of benighted

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