erudite
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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; see origin at e- 1, rude, -ite 2
Explanation
If you call someone erudite, that means they show great learning. After you've earned your second Ph.D., you will be truly erudite. Erudite is from Latin verb erudire, "to teach," which comes from rudis for "raw, unskilled, ignorant" (the source of our word rude). If you bring someone out of a raw state, you educate them, so someone who is erudite is very educated indeed (and perhaps a bit of a showoff). You can say either ER-oo-dite or ER-yoo-dite; the second one, being a bit harder to say, can seem a bit more erudite.
Vocabulary lists containing erudite
Advanced English Words
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Grade 10, List 2
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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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.
The erudite and engaging historian Lincoln Paine unfolds our relationship to the aquatic planet for the past 5,000 years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
Mr. Smith is erudite and rigorous but also funny.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
I didn’t want to make an erudite cinematic movie or a referential movie.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2025
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 • Dec. 8, 2025
Handsome, erudite, and a packet of energy, the Latvian was a crowd-pleaser and the darling of the chess world.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
