unenlightened
adjective
un·en·light·ened
ˌən-in-ˈlī-tᵊnd 
-en-
: having or showing a lack of necessary knowledge or understanding : not enlightened
… his disregard for society's margins seems particularly unenlightened.—
Genevieve Stuttaford
Genevieve Stuttaford… an audience of unenlightened laymen.—Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol OatesExamples of unenlightened in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Most gratifying in Newnham’s investigation is how Hite reclaimed her own positive sense of self in exile through some key female friendships: a love goddess finding refuge with like-minded souls after a bruising battle with unenlightened, resentful mortals.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov. 2023
By today’s standards, looking for a single ideal of beauty feels antiquated and unenlightened.
—Rhonda Garelick, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2023
Both novels engage with the ways that ostensibly academic conversations, like the riverside chats that stud Brideshead or the Greek classes with Julian in The Secret History, can hold erotic subtexts whose meaning might elude the unenlightened eavesdropper.
—Jo Livingstone, The New Republic, 22 Oct. 2021
Today, many scholars dismiss the imperialist, racist logics propounded by the founders of modern international relations theory as merely reflecting the prejudices of an unenlightened era: sins not egregious enough to diminish the value of the sinners’ good works.
—Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
Some supporters say that opinion is culturally unenlightened, as rabbit, common in grocery stores and markets in Europe, is a traditional staple in the diets of many foreign countries, and thousands of natives of those countries now live in Connecticut.
—Susan Dunne, courant.com, 21 Mar. 2022
Hops, for the unenlightened.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 23 May 2022
When a country like Syria is engulfed in a civil war, it’s treated as tragic, but inevitable—just the same savagery that’s constantly happening in an unenlightened part world.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 2 Mar. 2022
This gives the emotions of their scenes more complexity, and though Freyer can’t do much else with her troubled character, Klasko is at times heartbreaking in his portrait of conflicted and hopelessly unenlightened love.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2023
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov. 2023
By today’s standards, looking for a single ideal of beauty feels antiquated and unenlightened.
—Rhonda Garelick, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2023
Both novels engage with the ways that ostensibly academic conversations, like the riverside chats that stud Brideshead or the Greek classes with Julian in The Secret History, can hold erotic subtexts whose meaning might elude the unenlightened eavesdropper.
—Jo Livingstone, The New Republic, 22 Oct. 2021
Today, many scholars dismiss the imperialist, racist logics propounded by the founders of modern international relations theory as merely reflecting the prejudices of an unenlightened era: sins not egregious enough to diminish the value of the sinners’ good works.
—Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
Some supporters say that opinion is culturally unenlightened, as rabbit, common in grocery stores and markets in Europe, is a traditional staple in the diets of many foreign countries, and thousands of natives of those countries now live in Connecticut.
—Susan Dunne, courant.com, 21 Mar. 2022
Hops, for the unenlightened.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 23 May 2022
When a country like Syria is engulfed in a civil war, it’s treated as tragic, but inevitable—just the same savagery that’s constantly happening in an unenlightened part world.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 2 Mar. 2022
This gives the emotions of their scenes more complexity, and though Freyer can’t do much else with her troubled character, Klasko is at times heartbreaking in his portrait of conflicted and hopelessly unenlightened love.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unenlightened.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Unenlightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unenlightened. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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