uneducated

adjective

un·​ed·​u·​cat·​ed ˌən-ˈe-jə-ˌkā-təd How to pronounce uneducated (audio)
: having or showing little or no formal schooling : not educated
Owing to my father being left an orphan at the age of six years, in poverty, and in a new country, he became a wholly uneducated man.Abraham Lincoln
an uneducated attitude

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Its residents are Mennonites; the colony’s men have taken grotesque advantage of its hermetic isolation to prey on the women, who are kept uneducated. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2023 Every Mississippi mechanism hurt some white voters, too — the poor and the uneducated. al, 5 Dec. 2022 Their perspectives are outdated, uneducated and based mostly in fear. Hazlitt, 3 Jan. 2023 But at the same time other church leaders associated tongues-speaking with the Pentecostal movement, Christians who were generally poor, uneducated and known for raucous interracial worship services. The Salt Lake Tribune, 20 Nov. 2022 With three men for every two women, women were kept uneducated and at home. Robert Epstein, Discover Magazine, 19 Apr. 2012 These victims, once dismissed as crazy and uneducated, are thus remade into philosopher-kings. Jennifer Wilson, The New Republic, 19 Dec. 2022 Beecher said candidates are also largely uneducated in Native issues. Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 30 Oct. 2022 The event was pure chaos; the firing was seemingly done impulsively by a handful of the frightened, uneducated ex-cons who filled the British ranks. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'uneducated.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of uneducated was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near uneducated

Cite this Entry

“Uneducated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uneducated. Accessed 10 Jun. 2023.

Kids Definition

uneducated

adjective
un·​ed·​u·​cat·​ed
ˌən-ˈej-ə-ˌkāt-əd
: seriously lacking in education and especially in formal schooling

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