ignoramus

[ ig-nuh-rey-muhs, -ram-uhs ]

/ ˌɪg nəˈreɪ məs, -ˈræm əs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ignoramus ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ig·no·ra·mus·es.

an extremely ignorant person.

Words nearby ignoramus

ignition system, ignitron, ignoble, ignominious, ignominy, ignoramus, ignorance, ignorance is bliss, ignorant, ignoratio elenchi, ignore

Origin of ignoramus

1570–80; < Latin ignōrāmus we ignore (1st person plural present indicative of ignōrāre to be ignorant of, ignore); hence name of an ignorant lawyer in the play Ignoramus (1615) by the English playwright G. Ruggle, whence current sense

SYNONYMS FOR ignoramus

simpleton, fool, dunce, know-nothing.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ignoramus ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for ignoramus

Is he really an ignoramus mistakenly granted admission ahead of deserving students because his parents know the right people?
Less is Moo: The Genius of Gary Larson|Tom Doran|March 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A demagogue must be neither an educated nor an honest man; he has to be an ignoramus and a rogue.
Obama Is Too Good For Us|Charles Fried|August 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
He was looked upon as a fool, as an imbecile, as an ignoramus.
In Search of a Son|William Shepard Walsh
Is that all that he knows of that hateful watchword—strategy—nausea repeated by every ignoramus and imbecile?
Diary from March 4, 1861, to November 12, 1862|Adam Gurowski

Finally, the orator turned straight in my direction and said, "Ignoramus!"
The Story of Chautauqua|Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
What in the world can the teacher be thinking of, to keep such an ignoramus in the class?
Hector's Inheritance|Horatio Alger
After all, perhaps, you will find me only an ignoramus, though I fancy myself quite an adept.
Manners, Vol 1 of 3|Frances Brooke

British Dictionary definitions for ignoramus

ignoramus

/ (ˌɪɡnəˈreɪməs) /

noun plural -muses

an ignorant person; fool

Word Origin for ignoramus

C16: from legal Latin, literally: we have no knowledge of, from Latin ignōrāre to be ignorant of; see ignore; modern usage originated from the use of Ignoramus as the name of an unlettered lawyer in a play by G. Ruggle, 17th-century English dramatist

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ignoramus

noun, plural ig·no·ra·mus·es.

Words related to ignoramus

Words nearby ignoramus

Origin of ignoramus

SYNONYMS FOR ignoramus

Examples from the Web for ignoramus

British Dictionary definitions for ignoramus

noun plural -muses

Word Origin for ignoramus