as in benighted
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Recent Examples of unenlightened
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
See All Example Sentences for 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
See All Example Sentences for unenlightened
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unenlightened
Adjective
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That said, the inclusion of out-of-home impressions to the national TV sample in autumn 2020 and the subsequent expansion of Nielsen’s OOH measurement have helped the NCAA’s media partners claw back a good deal of deliveries that would have been otherwise ignored in a more benighted era.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
25 Mar. 2025
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And, of course, speedily deport those who misbehave. — George W. Price, Chicago Our benighted states The only renaming of place that is called for in this age of Donald Trump is the United States of America.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And jingoism, idiotic, is not patriotism.—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
7 Mar. 2025
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But, here, the characters suffer from the horror film syndrome of making one idiotic decision after another because that’s what the film requires to send the action in its intended direction.—
Scott Phillips,
Forbes,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The show and its participants were even parodied on Saturday Night Live in January, with comedian Ego Nwodim playing Amuli, and other cast members mocking people’s poor conversation skills and unintelligent dating decisions.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2025
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Participants hesitated almost three times as long to switch off an intelligent and agreeable robot (34.5 seconds) compared to an unintelligent and non agreeable robot (11.8 seconds).—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
31 Jan. 2013
Adjective
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Look, the game is about first impressions and making decisions that are sort of uneducated.—
Michael Cuby,
Them.,
31 Mar. 2025
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Similar views applied to immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, whom many Americans regarded as poor, uneducated, and inferior.—
Made by History,
Time,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This situation would be a comedy of errors if not for its ending in tragedy: Andy is ignorant of Sherry’s affections, Sherry has no notion of Crawford’s intentions, and Crawford could not care less about either of them.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
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Some sellers, who may only own a home for a few years, may be ignorant of its past.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unenlightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unenlightened. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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