Showing results for "learned"

• past tense form of learn.
• past participle of learn.

learned

American  

[lur-nid, lurnd] / ˈlɜr nɪd, lɜrnd /

adjective

1. having much knowledge; scholarly; erudite.

   learned professors.

2. connected or involved with the pursuit of knowledge, especially of a scholarly nature.

   a learned journal.

3. of or showing learning or knowledge; well-informed.

   learned in the ways of the world.

4. acquired by experience, study, etc..

   learned behavior.

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learned British  

/ ˈlɜːnɪd /

adjective

1. having great knowledge or erudition

2. involving or characterized by scholarship

3. (prenominal) a title applied in referring to a member of the legal profession, esp to a barrister

   my learned friend

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Other Word Forms

• learnedness
  noun
• overlearnedness
  noun
• half-learned
  adjective
• overlearned
  adjective
• well-learned
  adjective
• half-learnedly
  adverb
• learnedly
  adverb
• overlearnedly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of learned

First recorded in 1300–50, learned is from the Middle English word lerned. See learn, -ed ²

Explanation

If you're learned (pronounced LUR-ned), you're highly educated, or you have or show a profound knowledge of some kind. The adjective learned comes from the verb learn. You can use it either to describe someone as having a lot of education, like the learned shopkeeper who used to tell you about the Trojan War while you picked out your candy, or to describe something that doesn't come naturally, but has to be learned (in which case it's pronounced LURND). If you reward your dog when she howls, then her howling will become a learned (LURND) behavior.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

learned

The series aired only 13 of 15 episodes, which was quite enough for me to recall it immediately when I learned of Curry’s death.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

In the Old World, women would have learned how to make those dishes from their mothers, but in America they often lived in separate households.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Contrary to what you learned in civics class, the grease that keeps the wheels of American democracy turning isn’t voters, legislation, or donor cash; it’s staffers.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

Residents say they learned of the scheme only when it was announced in January, and that meetings since have felt like exhibitions rather than consultations.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

In churches and club rooms and private homes in those desperate days, I told the truths Betsie and I had learned in Ravensbruck.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• accomplished
• educated
• scholarly
• scientific
• studied
• well-educated