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.
Africans, like Asians—she tells us—are among the most educated cohorts in the U.S.:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Gilbert persuaded officials of his plan to revive the city: Instead of wooing office tenants, it would mean attracting young, educated residents with money to spend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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
Born in Wakefield in 1960 and educated at Lady Lumley's Comprehensive School, Pickering, and Peter's School in York, he studied social and political science at Christ's College, Cambridge.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Hear me, Pip! I adopted her, to be loved. I bred her and educated her, to be loved. I developed her into what she is, that she might be loved. Love her!”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
