educated
Americanadjective
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having undergone education.
educated people.
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characterized by or displaying qualities of culture and learning.
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based on some information or experience.
an educated estimate of next year's sales.
adjective
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having an education, esp a good one
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displaying culture, taste, and knowledge; cultivated
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(prenominal) based on experience or information (esp in the phrase an educated guess )
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of educated
Explanation
If you're educated, you've been to school or college, or otherwise been instructed or trained. Using long, fancy words will either make people think you're educated or that you're a show-off. When you make an educated decision about something, you've learned about the subject before making up your mind — you've been educated or educated yourself, and you understand it completely. An educated conversation or debate about a topic is one in which both sides have knowledge about the issues. Educated comes from educate, with its Latin root, educare, which means both "educate" and "bring up or rear children."
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.
In fact—as can be seen in the immigration patterns to the U.S. from China and India—emigrants can be “among the most privileged and educated of their nations.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Mr. Ogilvy, who was educated at Oxford and later became a chef, writes in propulsive prose that elevates this, his first book, above a simple history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The common denominator for all of the editions is audiences who are more upscale and better educated than the average TV viewer, he added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
"Women are better educated, there are better treatments available so women are no longer invisible - the future is looking better."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Ahhhh! Ahhhh! The children will need this. My mother said children need fat and oil. She was not educated, but she could feel that this was true. She fed us fish whenever she could get.”
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
