Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for well-read. Search instead for well-read+in.
Synonyms

well-read

American  
[wel-red] / ˈwɛlˈrɛd /

adjective

  1. having read extensively (sometimes followed byin ).

    well-read in oceanography.
well-read British  
/ ˈwɛlˈrɛd /

adjective

  1. having read widely and intelligently; erudite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of well-read

First recorded in 1590–1600

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.

Bailey chalks this hesitancy up to education, but Motta says it’s not just that, noting that many pet parents today are well-read.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

There were a handful of others, but all followed the same pattern of being erstwhile intelligent, well-read people, successful in their professional spheres, who went down the rabbit hole.

From Salon • Oct. 20, 2024

But there's not much about how well-read he was, or what his songs were about.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2023

What this feels like is an eventful, rich, addictive conversation with your smartest, funniest and most well-read friend.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2023

The Horner girls were clever young women, well-read and educated, with promising intellectual futures.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

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.