nescience

noun

ne·science | \ ˈne-sh(ē-)ən(t)s

How to pronounce nescience (audio)

, ˈnē-, -sē-ən(t)s

How to pronounce nescience (audio)

\

Definition of nescience

: lack of knowledge or awareness : ignorance

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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."

Examples of nescience in a Sentence

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

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The first known use of nescience was in 1612

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