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.

---

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

• 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

“Now we’ve learned that we need to do the same with our friends.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Inglis' father Alan previously told BBC Scotland News he had learned about his son's death through word of mouth from inside the prison.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Stew says he learned the virtues of “asking the song” while casting the original production at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2006.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

It is whether we have learned to listen differently.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026

After a short conversation, Clare had learned that the turtle spent his life as a beaver’s apprentice, and while he’d never been the fastest builder in the pond, he’d been the most diligent.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---