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
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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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.
Carla says she had never heard the words triggering or gaslighting before her sons started using them and assumes they learned them on social media.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
She and Katie learned more about the device, and came to Nottingham to try it in December before it was available to buy.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
“You saw what other schools do to us. If the other teams are going to be physical, we have to be physical,” Wolfson said of the lesson learned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
“A lot depends on getting as many on board as possible. Just as we learned last week of the big majorities — it will take joining arms and moving forward together as veto-proof majorities.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026
I eventually learned the moving and stationary parts, the chemistry of oils and solutions, tool and grindwheel and magnifying techniques.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
