well-read
Americanadjective
adjective
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.
When Alice Lockey, a well-read lady’s maid to an aristocrat, meets the bookish Charlie, a valet, the match seems meant to be.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The disturbing thing is that it’s a question whose answer, to any well-read observer, is uncertain at best.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
Any well-read person is likely to consider the rise of the modern nation-state to be a distinctly mixed bag, as the history of the last two or three centuries has demonstrated.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2025
At the time, he spoke about “going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance” and praised Kai as “brilliant” and the “most well-read, the smartest Wayans.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2025
They were obviously cut from the same well-read, well-bred, lunatic cloth.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
