ignorant
Americanadjective
-
lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned.
Although he was an ignorant man, he was very excited to learn.
- Synonyms:
- untaught, untutored, uninstructed
- Antonyms:
- literate
-
lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact.
I admit I'm entirely ignorant of quantum physics.
- Synonyms:
- unenlightened
- Antonyms:
- learned
-
uninformed; unaware.
You'd have to be pretty ignorant not to have heard this news.
-
due to or showing lack of knowledge or training.
Everyone makes an ignorant statement or two when they're first starting out.
adjective
-
lacking in knowledge or education; unenlightened
-
lacking in awareness or knowledge (of)
ignorant of the law
-
resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or awareness
an ignorant remark
Commonly Confused
See stupid ( def. ).
Related Words
Ignorant, illiterate, unlettered, uneducated mean lacking in knowledge or in training. Ignorant may mean knowing little or nothing, or it may mean uninformed about a particular subject: An ignorant person can be dangerous. I confess I'm ignorant of mathematics. Illiterate originally meant lacking a knowledge of literature or similar learning, but is most often applied now to one unable to read or write: necessary training for illiterate soldiers. Unlettered emphasizes the idea of being without knowledge of literature: unlettered though highly trained in science. Uneducated refers especially to lack of schooling or to lack of access to a body of knowledge equivalent to that learned in schools: uneducated but highly intelligent. None of these words mean "lacking in intelligence."
Other Word Forms
- ignorantly adverb
- nonignorant adjective
- nonignorantly adverb
- quasi-ignorant adjective
- quasi-ignorantly adverb
- self-ignorant adjective
- superignorant adjective
- superignorantly adverb
- unignorant adjective
- unignorantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of ignorant
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English ignora(u)nt, from Latin ignōrant-, stem of ignōrāns “not knowing,” present participle of ignōrāre “to not know”; ignore ( def. ), -ant ( def. )
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.
Ohtani threw his cap and glove in a rare show of emotion, setting off a wild and sincere celebration as my ignorant self finally realized, “Hey, this is a thing.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026
Often, they "are ignorant of the history" of French colonisation -- even their ban on speaking native Ivorian languages in schools, he added.
From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026
Understandable, but ignorant of the way things are.
From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026
At the remove of 2½ centuries, that concern seems quaint, for today the real question may be whether the country can prosper if its citizens are ignorant and unlettered.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
They did not quite know what to say or do, as they were ignorant of the amount of my knowledge; so they had to keep on neutral subjects.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
