ignorant

American  

[ig-ner-uhnt] / ˈɪg nər ənt /

adjective

1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned.

   Although he was an ignorant man, he was very excited to learn.

   Synonyms:

   untaught, untutored, uninstructed

   Antonyms:

   literate

2. lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact.

   I admit I'm entirely ignorant of quantum physics.

   Synonyms:

   unenlightened

   Antonyms:

   learned

3. uninformed; unaware.

   You'd have to be pretty ignorant not to have heard this news.

4. due to or showing lack of knowledge or training.

   Everyone makes an ignorant statement or two when they're first starting out.

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ignorant British  

/ ˈɪɡnərənt /

adjective

1. lacking in knowledge or education; unenlightened

2. lacking in awareness or knowledge (of)

   ignorant of the law

3. resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or awareness

   an ignorant remark

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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. )

Explanation

If you make an ignorant comment, your listeners might laugh at you, might get mad at you, or they might patiently instruct you in the ways that you are uninformed. People can be generally ignorant, meaning that they are uneducated and lacking in sophistication. Or people can be ignorant of specific types of information. In fact, we all are. For example, most of us are ignorant of the particulars of nuclear physics and ignorant about what it takes to be an astronaut. Sometimes people are also labeled ignorant if they are rude, inconsiderate, or narrow-minded.

Example Sentences

She turns up in his hometown and, with nowhere else to stay, helps herself to his villa while Matteo gallivants around the States, blissfully ignorant.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

On Friday morning ap Iorwerth was asked on BBC Radio Wales if his reference to "ignorance", which was trailed ahead of his speech, meant he was suggesting Reform voters were ignorant.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 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

It would be ignorant to dismiss how critical this film is for the mid-budget movie’s longevity just because it also happens to be extremely campy.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026

I had discerned the ways in which we had been sculpted by a tradition given to us by others, a tradition of which we were either willfully or accidentally ignorant.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

• illiterate
• innocent
• naive
• oblivious
• obtuse
• uneducated
• uninformed