Word Study
ignorant
CIDE DICTIONARY
ignorant, a. [F., fr. L. ignorans, -antis, p. pr. of ignorare to be ignorant. See Ignore.].
- Destitute of knowledge; uninstructed or uninformed; untaught; unenlightened. [1913 Webster]"He that doth not know those things which are of use for him to know, is but an ignorant man, whatever he may know besides." [1913 Webster]
- Unacquainted with; unconscious or unaware; -- used with of. [1913 Webster]"Ignorant of guilt, I fear not shame." [1913 Webster]
- Unknown; undiscovered. [1913 Webster]"Ignorant concealment." [1913 Webster]"Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?" [1913 Webster]
- Resulting from ignorance; foolish; silly. [1913 Webster]"His shipping,
Poor ignorant baubles! -- on our terrible seas,
Like eggshells moved.""In such business
Action is eloquence, and the eyes of the ignorant
More learned than the ears." [1913 Webster]"In the first ages of Christianity, not only the learned and the wise, but the ignorant and illiterate, embraced torments and death." [1913 Webster]
Syn. -- Uninstructed; untaught; unenlightened; uninformed; unlearned; unlettered; illiterate. -- Ignorant, Illiterate. Ignorant denotes lack of knowledge, either as to single subject or information in general; illi
ignorant, n.
A person untaught or uninformed; one unlettered or unskilled; an ignoramous. [1913 Webster]
"Did I for this take pains to teach
Our zealous ignorants to preach?" [1913 Webster]
Our zealous ignorants to preach?" [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
ignorant, adj.
1 a lacking knowledge. b (foll. by of, in) uninformed (about a fact or subject).
2 colloq. ill-mannered, uncouth.
1 a lacking knowledge. b (foll. by of, in) uninformed (about a fact or subject).
2 colloq. ill-mannered, uncouth.
Derivative
ignorantly adv.
Etymology
ME f. OF f. L ignorare ignorant- (as IGNORE)
THESAURUS
ignorant
a novice at, a stranger to, awkward, benighted, blankminded, boorish, brainless, callow, crude, disaccustomed, discourteous, dumb, empty, empty-headed, foolish, fresh, gauche, green, green as grass, groping, gross, headless, ill-mannered, illiterate, immature, impolite, in the dark, inane, incognizant, inept, inexperienced, ingenuous, innocent, insensate, irrational, know-nothing, lackbrained, lean-minded, lean-witted, lowbrow, mindless, naive, nescient, new to, not bright, oblivious, of little brain, pea-brained, pin-brained, raw, reasonless, rude, rusty, senseless, simple, slackminded, slackwitted, strange to, tentative, unaccustomed, unaccustomed to, unacquainted, unacquainted with, unapprized, unaware, uncivil, uncomprehending, unconscious, unconversant, unconversant with, uncouth, uncultured, undeveloped, uneducated, unenlightened, unexperienced, unfamiliar, unfamiliar with, unfledged, ungifted, unhabituated, unhardened, unilluminated, uninformed, uninitiated, uninitiated in, uninstructed, unintellectual, unintelligent, uninured, unknowing, unlearned, unlettered, unmatured, unposted, unpracticed, unpracticed in, unprogressive, unread, unreasoning, unripe, unschooled, unseasoned, unskilled in, unsophisticated, unsure, untalented, untaught, unthinking, untrained, untried, untutored, unused, unused to, unversed, unversed in, unwise, unwitting, unwonted, vacuous, weaned, witlessROGET THESAURUS
ignorant
Uncertainty
N uncertainty, incertitude, doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubitation, dubitancy, dubitousness, hesitation, suspense, perplexity, embarrassment, dilemma, bewilderment, timidity, vacillation, diaporesis, indetermination, vagueness, haze, fog, obscurity, ambiguity, contingency, dependence, dependency, double contingency, possibility upon a possibility, open question, onus probandi, blind bargain, pig in a poke, leap in the dark, something or other, needle in a haystack, needle in a bottle of hay, roving commission, precariousness, fallibility, uncertain, casual, random, changeable, doubtful, dubious, indecisive, unsettled, undecided, undetermined, in suspense, open to discussion, controvertible, in question, vague, indeterminate, indefinite, ambiguous, equivocal, undefined, undefinable, confused, mystic, oracular, dazed, perplexing, enigmatic, paradoxical, apocryphal, problematical, hypothetical, experimental, unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable), fallible, questionable, precarious, slippery, ticklish, debatable, disputable, unreliable, untrustworthy, contingent, contingent on, dependent on, subject to, dependent on circumstances, occasional, provisional, unauthentic, unauthenticated, unauthoritative, unascertained, unconfirmed, undemonstrated, untold, uncounted, in a state of uncertainty, in a cloud, in a maze, bushed, off the track, ignorant, afraid to say, out of one's reckoning, astray, adrift, at sea, at fault, at a loss, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, puzzled, lost, abroad, d_esorient_e, distracted, distraught, pendente lite, sub spe rati, Heaven knows, who can tell? who shall decide when doctors disagr.Ignorance
N ignorance, nescience, tabula rasa, crass ignorance, ignorance crasse, unfamiliarity, unacquaintance, unconsciousness, darkness, blindness, incomprehension, inexperience, simplicity, unknown quantities, x, y, z, sealed book, terra incognita, virgin soil, unexplored ground, dark ages, smattering, sciolism, glimmering, dilettantism, bewilderment, incapacity, pedantry, charlatanry, charlatism, Philister, Philistine, ignorant, nescient, unknowing, unaware, unacquainted, unapprised, unapprized, unwitting, unweeting, unconscious, witless, weetless, a stranger to, unconversant, uninformed, uncultivated, unversed, uninstructed, untaught, uninitiated, untutored, unschooled, misguided, unenlightened, Philistine, behind the age, shallow, superficial, green, rude, empty, half-learned, illiterate, unread, uninformed, uneducated, unlearned, unlettered, unbookish, empty-headed, dizzy, wooly-headed, pedantic, in the dark, benighted, belated, blinded, blindfolded, hoodwinked, misinformed, au bout de son latin, at the end of his tether, at fault, at sea, caught tripping, unknown, unapprehended, unexplained, unascertained, uninvestigated, unexplored, unheard of, not perceived, concealed, novel, ignorantly, unawares, for anything, for aught one knows, not that one knows, Int, God knows, Heaven knows, the Lord knows, who knows, nobody knows, ignorance never settles a question, quantum animis erroris inest!, small Latin and less Greek, that unlettered small-knowing soul, there is no darkness but ignorance.Ignoramus
N ignoramus, dunce, wooden spoon, no scholar, (imbecility) 499 (folly) 501 moron, imbecile, idiot, fool, jerk, nincompoop, asshole, dilettante, sciolist, smatterer, dabbler, half scholar, charlatan, wiseacre, greenhorn, amateur, novice, tyro, numskull, lubber, fool, pedant, bookless, shallow, ignorant, a wit with dunces and a dunce with wits.For further exploring for "ignorant" in Webster Dictionary Online