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Synonym Chooser

How is the word ignorant distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of ignorant are illiterate, unlearned, unlettered, and untutored. While all these words mean "not having knowledge," ignorant may imply a general condition or it may apply to lack of knowledge or awareness of a particular thing.

an ignorant fool
ignorant of nuclear physics

When could illiterate be used to replace ignorant?

Although the words illiterate and ignorant have much in common, illiterate applies to either an absolute or a relative inability to read and write.

much of the population is still illiterate

When can unlearned be used instead of ignorant?

While the synonyms unlearned and ignorant are close in meaning, unlearned suggests ignorance of advanced subjects.

poetry not for academics but for the unlearned masses

In what contexts can unlettered take the place of ignorant?

The meanings of unlettered and ignorant largely overlap; however, unlettered implies ignorance of the knowledge gained by reading.

an allusion meaningless to the unlettered

Where would untutored be a reasonable alternative to ignorant?

The words untutored and ignorant can be used in similar contexts, but untutored may imply lack of schooling in the arts and ways of civilization.

strange monuments built by an untutored people

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of ignorant Less prescient was her claim—ignorant in exactly the way of so many white feminists throughout history—that racial oppression would be solved once gender was abolished. Hazlitt, 11 June 2025 The provision prohibiting states from regulating AI for the next 10 years is unconscionably ignorant and dangerous. Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 June 2025 Conservative Americans benignly criticized Pope Francis as ignorant of America. Emmett Coyne, The Hill, 23 May 2025 Also mourning the death of her own daughter, Laura begins exhibiting disturbing behavior in her treatment of Andy and her other mute foster child Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), of which the partially-sighted Piper is blissfully ignorant. Glenn Garner, Deadline, 16 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for ignorant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ignorant
Adjective
  • Still, despite the glut of legal graduates, his shift in focus was an unusual move for an ambitious young man in a country where farming is seen as a job for old, uneducated or poor people.
    Carmen Abd Ali, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The Catholic Church openly collaborated with the Ustaše, whose support came largely from young men with rural, blue-collar, uneducated backgrounds.
    Larry Luxner, Sun Sentinel, 5 May 2025
Adjective
  • This makes travel potentially more dangerous, especially for those who are unaware of these evolving challenges.
    Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
  • Like many of the other victims, the girl was unaware of the abuse, according to an arrest report.
    Michael Moore Jr, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
Adjective
  • My challenge was to make the sequel scarier, and darker.
    Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
  • Executive Chef Graham House and Chef de Cuisine Graham House of Luminosa in Asheville, NC, recommend using a whole roast chicken, both dark and white meat, but placing half of it in the food processor before hand shredding the remaining bits for texture.
    Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • Many kids want to keep playing at the park or in the pool, totally oblivious to the fact that their parents are desperate to sit in front of the AC for a few minutes.
    Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 27 June 2025
  • Meanwhile, at Casa, an oblivious Cierra is starting to make a connection with bombshell Elan.
    Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 26 June 2025
Adjective
  • Is there any wonder the Valley’s illiterate overlords are embracing it?
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 June 2025
  • The Gospel authors, far from being community leaders preserving oral sayings for largely illiterate followers, were highly literate members of a small, erudite upper crust, distant in experience, attitude, and geography from any Galilean peasant preachers.
    Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Antony and Cleopatra’s benighted love story plays out against the surge of Roman power, and Caesar, sung with biting clarity by Paul Appleby, comes off as a modern Duce.
    Justin Davidson, Vulture, 13 May 2025
  • In that benighted era, smart and beautiful women like Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Judy Holliday were perennially cast in jiggle roles: empty headed, screen-filling eye candy.
    Guy Trebay, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • No untutored voice, nor even sound of rushing car disturbed the seemingly sacred stillness of the hour.
    Erin Alberty, Axios, 14 Apr. 2025
  • His savage, untutored mind suggested no better way than that of wreaking vengeance upon those who had wronged him.
    Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The simplest ideas in mathematics can also be the most perplexing.
    Leila Sloman, Wired News, 29 June 2025
  • And given that toppers were developed specifically as a lighter, simpler alternative to full-bodied campers, designed to fit within limited midsize truck payloads, that extra beef is a definite problem for some shoppers.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ignorant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ignorant. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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