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 learn or knowledge; well-informed.

   learned in the ways of the world.

4. acquired by experience, study, etc..

   learned behavior.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

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

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

The ideological training was a cage built around a mind that had already learned to think.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Acevedo said she planned to refinance her loan but learned that she couldn’t because the property had a lien from a previous owner.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

Creating their own game had been "this dream that we talked about all the time" as they learned skills such as programming and 3D modelling.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

Here is what I learned from talking to voters on a whistlestop tour across the UK, from London to Cardiff, then Birmingham, Stockport, Gateshead and Edinburgh.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

“The war was ending. We had just learned he was going to come back here, and I didn’t want him anywhere near my girls again. You had a duty.”

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

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