as in benighted
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Recent Examples of unenlightened
Instead of transitioning these communities into new industries or providing them with the tools to adapt, our legislators have chosen to obscure coal and its workers, treating them as relics of a bygone, unenlightened and even primitive era.
—
Daniel A.c. McBride, Baltimore Sun, 1 June 2025
Dirty work is often assumed to be unenlightened work, but wildland firefighters have a unique empirical understanding of natural forces.
—M. R. O’Connor, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Some are downright funky in their retro prejudices, others more quaintly unenlightened.
—Lauren Bravo, refinery29.com, 3 Jan. 2024
Wilson, therefore, was not introducing the ideas of world order and human rights to a collection of previously anarchic states and unenlightened polities.
—Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for unenlightened
Daniel A.c. McBride, Baltimore Sun, 1 June 2025
Dirty work is often assumed to be unenlightened work, but wildland firefighters have a unique empirical understanding of natural forces.
—M. R. O’Connor, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Some are downright funky in their retro prejudices, others more quaintly unenlightened.
—Lauren Bravo, refinery29.com, 3 Jan. 2024
Wilson, therefore, was not introducing the ideas of world order and human rights to a collection of previously anarchic states and unenlightened polities.
—Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for unenlightened
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unenlightened
Adjective
-
Repeal the benighted Jones Act, which raises energy and shipping costs.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Repeal the benighted Jones Act, which raises energy and shipping costs.—
Bloomberg Opinion,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Even those on the right who find Groypers idiotic actually echo many of their political positions.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
That idiotic comment should exclude him from being granted a place to air his views.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
More and more people are avoiding dating or befriending those with opposing political views, and growing numbers describe those on the other side as closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent.—
Justin Callais,
Twin Cities,
5 Mar. 2026
-
More and more people are avoiding dating or befriending those with opposing political views, and growing numbers describe those on the other side as closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent.—
Justin Callais,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
At the age of 10, Elizabeth would see first hand what would happen when her mother, an uneducated woman with six children, would have to support herself on her own.—
Marcy Thompson,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Words with letters dropped off the end or entire phrases strung together to form new words were seen as improper speech of the uneducated and poor.—
Moriah Humiston,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Excluding industry from the room doesn’t make for ‘independent’ policy but sets the table for ignorant policy.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Being ignorant but rational, the proto-citizens will necessarily settle on what Rawls called the Two Principles of Justice.—
George G. Szpiro,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
His moronic tariffs continue to blow up in his face, spiking inflation and getting zero concessions from China.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
In the annals of moronic behavior, driving forty minutes out of your way in the middle of the night in order to secretly and skillfully cut down everybody’s favorite tree does not come up.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Proof is just smart enough without risking making anyone feel dumb.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Trump has routinely mocked his political opponents and critics as crazy or dumb.—
Joseph Konig,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unenlightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unenlightened. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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