learned
Americanadjective
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having much knowledge; scholarly; erudite.
learned professors.
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connected or involved with the pursuit of knowledge, especially of a scholarly nature.
a learned journal.
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of or showing learning or knowledge; well-informed.
learned in the ways of the world.
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acquired by experience, study, etc..
learned behavior.
adjective
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having great knowledge or erudition
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involving or characterized by scholarship
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(prenominal) a title applied in referring to a member of the legal profession, esp to a barrister
my learned friend
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of learned
First recorded in 1300–50, learned is from the Middle English word lerned. See learn, -ed 2
Explanation
If you're learned (pronounced LUR-ned), you're highly educated, or you have or show a profound knowledge of some kind. The adjective learned comes from the verb learn. You can use it either to describe someone as having a lot of education, like the learned shopkeeper who used to tell you about the Trojan War while you picked out your candy, or to describe something that doesn't come naturally, but has to be learned (in which case it's pronounced LURND). If you reward your dog when she howls, then her howling will become a learned (LURND) behavior.
Vocabulary lists containing learned
Beowulf vocabulary
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Words to Describe a Teacher
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tool, Learned Hand, is already in use by judges in 10 states, according to the company’s CEO.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
In one of Harvard's lecture theatres, the women's rugby captain Maya Learned put on a video of a United States' match.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
Appeared in the March 20, 2026, print edition as 'What I Learned About Islam During Lent'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Learned a lot of different things, not just with the art that I do, but I learned how to do zines, I learned how to make books, we did creative writing and I got published.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2024
We encounter many signs of “spirituality” among the owners—books like Ten Things I Learned about Life in My Garden and inspirational wall hangings urging centeredness.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
