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.
He said serious traders tend to do extensive research in order to make money, meaning their bets are educated.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
"Testing can help you become better educated about what's going on so you can manage those changes."
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
His goal was to “translate that stuff that is going on among the historians into a language that can be read by an educated public.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
A business administrator educated in the United States, she has served as a lawmaker and leads her party.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
I weigh the variables and make a guess that sounds far more educated than it actually is.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
