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.
And while Pietersen was educated in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and Brook under the Cumbrian hills in Sedbergh, they come from the same cricketing school.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
As the paths to prosperity change, Nicole Ingham, the zillennial financial coach, said, “all Americans should have the right to be educated on how to benefit from the growth of the U.S. economy.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
They take indirect clues—movement, blood flow, skin temperature—and make an educated guess.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
“Randy’s one of those people in academia who is very well educated but doesn’t have an ounce of superiority about him,” said John Irving, who frequently guest lectures in Boyagoda’s classroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
In the course of a few years della Porta’s personal experience came to be shared with the whole of educated Europe.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
