nescience

noun

ne·​science ˈne-sh(ē-)ən(t)s  ˈnē- 

-sē-ən(t)s

: lack of knowledge or awareness : ignorance

nescient

ˈne-sh(ē-)ənt 

ˈnē-

-sē-ənt

adjective

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Gain Some Knowledge of Nescience

Eighteenth-century British poet, essayist, and lexicographer Samuel Johnson once said, "There is nothing so minute or inconsiderable that I would not rather know it than not know it." He probably knew a thing or two about the history of the word nescience, which evolved from a combination of the Latin prefix ne-, meaning "not," and scire, a verb meaning "to know." And he may also have known that scire is an ancestor of science, a word whose original meaning in English was "knowledge."

Synonyms

• benightedness
• cluelessness
• ignorance
• incognizance
• innocence
• obliviousness
• unawareness
• unfamiliarity

Examples of nescience in a Sentence

the appalling nescience of today's high schoolers concerning international affairs

Recent Examples on the Web

But this time her nescience was justified. —Matthew Continetti, National Review, 18 Jan. 2025

Critics pounced on his gaffes questioning evolution and asserting that vegetation caused pollution, but, as with Trump, Reagan’s backers cared little about these blunders or his nescience over public affairs. —Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin nescientia, from Latin nescient-, nesciens, present participle of nescire not to know, from ne- not + scire to know — more at no, science

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

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