ignorant

American  

[ig-ner-uhnt] / ˈɪg nər ənt /

adjective

1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned.

   Although he was an ignorant man, he was very excited to learn.

   Synonyms:

   untaught, untutored, uninstructed

   Antonyms:

   literate

2. lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact.

   I admit I'm entirely ignorant of quantum physics.

   Synonyms:

   unenlightened

   Antonyms:

   learned

3. uninformed; unaware.

   You'd have to be pretty ignorant not to have heard this news.

4. due to or showing lack of knowledge or training.

   Everyone makes an ignorant statement or two when they're first starting out.

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ignorant British  

/ ˈɪɡnərənt /

adjective

1. lacking in knowledge or education; unenlightened

2. lacking in awareness or knowledge (of)

   ignorant of the law

3. resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or awareness

   an ignorant remark

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Commonly Confused

See stupid ( def. ).

Related Words

Ignorant, illiterate, unlettered, uneducated mean lacking in knowledge or in training. Ignorant may mean knowing little or nothing, or it may mean uninformed about a particular subject: An ignorant person can be dangerous. I confess I'm ignorant of mathematics. Illiterate originally meant lacking a knowledge of literature or similar learning, but is most often applied now to one unable to read or write: necessary training for illiterate soldiers. Unlettered emphasizes the idea of being without knowledge of literature: unlettered though highly trained in science. Uneducated refers especially to lack of schooling or to lack of access to a body of knowledge equivalent to that learned in schools: uneducated but highly intelligent. None of these words mean "lacking in intelligence."

Other Word Forms

• ignorantly
  adverb
• nonignorant
  adjective
• nonignorantly
  adverb
• quasi-ignorant
  adjective
• quasi-ignorantly
  adverb
• self-ignorant
  adjective
• superignorant
  adjective
• superignorantly
  adverb
• unignorant
  adjective
• unignorantly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of ignorant

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English ignora(u)nt, from Latin ignōrant-, stem of ignōrāns “not knowing,” present participle of ignōrāre “to not know”; see ignore ( def. ), -ant ( def. )

Explanation

If you make an ignorant comment, your listeners might laugh at you, might get mad at you, or they might patiently instruct you in the ways that you are uninformed. People can be generally ignorant, meaning that they are uneducated and lacking in sophistication. Or people can be ignorant of specific types of information. In fact, we all are. For example, most of us are ignorant of the particulars of nuclear physics and ignorant about what it takes to be an astronaut. Sometimes people are also labeled ignorant if they are rude, inconsiderate, or narrow-minded.

Example Sentences

Former Wales captain and current Wales Under-18s head coach Siwan Lillicrap, external writing on X: "I can't believe my eyes - shame on you @neathrfc! Ignorant, unacceptable and inappropriate."

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2025

Ignorant of history, and hence of political possibilities, they cultivate bitter victimhood.

From Washington Post • Jul. 8, 2022

Ignorant of what is happening underwater, many river engineers continue to make bad situations worse by sticking with conventional methods of trying to hold back floods.

From Science Magazine • May 13, 2021

Ignorant responses to the Dayton shooting had aggravated Whaley’s sense that people don’t “really think about the middle of the country much.”

From The New Yorker • Aug. 12, 2019

Ignorant, graceless and rough, she ran away from home.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

• illiterate
• innocent
• naive
• oblivious
• obtuse
• uneducated
• uninformed