erudite

American  

[er-yoo-dahyt, er-oo-] / ˈɛr yʊˌdaɪt, ˈɛr ʊ- /

adjective

1. characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly.

   an erudite professor; an erudite commentary.

   Synonyms:

   sapient, wise, knowledgeable, educated

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erudite British  

/ ˌɛrʊˈdɪʃən, ˈɛrʊˌdaɪt /

adjective

1. having or showing extensive scholarship; learned

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Other Word Forms

• eruditely adverb
• eruditeness noun
• erudition noun
• nonerudite adjective
• noneruditely adverb
• noneruditeness noun
• unerudite adjective

Etymology

Origin of erudite

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin ērudītus, equivalent to ērud(ē)- ( ē- intensive prefix + rud- “unformed, rough, rude”) + -ītus adjective suffix; e- ¹, rude, -ite ²

Example Sentences

I didn’t want to make an erudite cinematic movie or a referential movie.

From Los Angeles Times

In The Times, critic David Kipen hailed Pynchon’s classic style as “Olympian, polymathic, erudite, antically funny, often beautiful, at times gross, at others incredibly romantic, never afraid to challenge or even confound.”

From Los Angeles Times

Compton is impossibly charming, effortfully erudite, and enjoys the status that comes with his stardom.

From Los Angeles Times

Although his public persona was quite vivid—convivial, erudite but unpretentious, articulate, and unfailingly charming—he did not imbue his buildings with a distinctive graphic sensibility.

From The Wall Street Journal

It is something he observed in his wife’s grandfather, a lifelong reader and raconteur who retained his gentle voice and erudite air long after the stories in him were lost to Alzheimer’s disease.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• knowledgeable
• literate
• scholarly