Showing Results for "learned"

See Also:

• past participle of learn.
• past tense form 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

Derived Forms

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

In 2009, after she learned that Nikolic was moving to a role at Gates’s private office, she took him to lunch and delivered what amounted to a pitch for Epstein, according to Nikolic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

One of the lessons Tronstein said he learned is that “baseball is a game of failure. How am I going to handle that and set myself up for success?”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

"But with Guardiola I learned an enormous amount. I started to understand spaces, ball retention, how the game really works."

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

In doing so, I had a blast discovering the scope of each person’s tastes and background – and even learned that we have a number of DJs on staff.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026

And so began our stay in this place that, we learned, was named Vught after the nearest small village.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

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