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: well-informed or deeply versed through reading
well-read in history

Examples of well-read in a Sentence

any well-read person would recognize the quotation
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Imperial China’s literate and well-read bureaucracy encouraged detailed record-keeping and historical inquiry. Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025 Joe Goldberg, Penn Badgley’s character in the Netflix thriller series You, is a bit of a bibliophile—and Badgley, too, is rather well-read. Mathias Rosenzweig, Vogue, 14 Oct. 2025 But his shot was tame and well-read by Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair. Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2025 The same parents who built our algorithmic economy now limit their own children’s exposure to it, creating a new kind of digital divide—one where being unplugged and well-read are the ultimate luxuries. Liz Doe Stone, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025 His parents were Eastern European Jewish and mildly observant, and his father Samuel embodied an unusual mix of being a well-read, well-informed, amateur inventor/butcher/grocer. Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 21 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1574, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of well-read was in 1574

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Cite this Entry

“Well-read.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/well-read. Accessed 28 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

well-read

adjective
-ˈred
: well informed by much reading

More from Merriam-Webster on well-read

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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