as in literate
having or displaying advanced knowledge or education
any well-read person would recognize the quotation
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Recent Examples of well-read
The stars were well-read and well-spoken, and academically motivated, some graduating in three years.
—
Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Alison Taylor, a professor of business and society at NYU’s Stern School of Business said being deeply well-read is becoming something of a luxury good—rare, valuable, and impossible to fake.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
Heeding these cryptic words some three decades later, the audacious (and well-read) impresario Tony Wilson opened the Haçienda together with the circle of post-punk musicians and designers involved with his label, Factory Records.
—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2026
The nine writers in our workshop were passionate, present, curious, rigorous, and, as a group, well-read across several languages.
—Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 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
Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Alison Taylor, a professor of business and society at NYU’s Stern School of Business said being deeply well-read is becoming something of a luxury good—rare, valuable, and impossible to fake.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
Heeding these cryptic words some three decades later, the audacious (and well-read) impresario Tony Wilson opened the Haçienda together with the circle of post-punk musicians and designers involved with his label, Factory Records.
—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2026
The nine writers in our workshop were passionate, present, curious, rigorous, and, as a group, well-read across several languages.
—Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for well-read
Adjective
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While tech-literate consumers might navigate the pitfalls successfully, more vulnerable groups—such as the elderly or those less comfortable with technology—are left wide open to errors and exploitation.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
13 Apr. 2026
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The turbulence of the past year brings to mind the sourcing strain of the 2020 pandemic—and the ways companies became more legally literate almost overnight as a matter of survival.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Education also plays a role, with more educated women tending to have fewer children.—
Manuela Castro,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
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Various strands of the opposition—ethnic minorities, leftists, and educated technocrats—appeared determined to block him, even at the price of leaving the regime in place.—
Azadeh Moaveni,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Despite their ubiquity, school yearbooks are a largely untapped source for scholarly inquiry.—
Michael A Messner,
The Conversation,
22 Apr. 2026
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Path to Open Books on JSTOR The Urgency of Indigenous Values is part of JSTOR’s Path to Open program, which expands access to high-quality scholarly monographs while building a sustainable path to open access.—
Tim Brinkhof,
JSTOR Daily,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Well-read.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/well-read. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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