unlearned
Americanadjective
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not learned; not scholarly or erudite.
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uneducated; untaught; unschooled; ignorant.
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not acquired by instruction, study, etc.
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known without being learned.
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of or relating to uneducated persons.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unlearned
First recorded in 1350–1400, unlearned is from the Middle English word unlerned. See un- 1, learned
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Vance has no ill words for the unlearned fundamentalism in which his grandmother raised him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The South African National Biodiversity Institute, which runs the zoo, denied it, saying it was behaviour learnt from years of circus life that would never be completely unlearned.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2024
“Artists should have unlearned having one platform being their main vehicle,” Columbia’s Flanagan said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
But what we’ve witnessed in these bank runs and collapses is a sign that the lessons of that historic event are still unlearned.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2023
His enemies and doubters, however, said that this Gotama was an idle fraud; he passed his days in high living, scorned the sacrifices, was unlearned and knew neither practices nor mortification of the flesh.
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
