| English Dictionary |
IGNORANT
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Dictionary entry overview: What does ignorant mean?
• IGNORANT (adjective)
The adjective IGNORANT has 3 senses:
1. uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
2. uneducated in the fundamentals of a given art or branch of learning; lacking knowledge of a specific field
3. unaware because of a lack of relevant information or knowledge
Familiarity information: IGNORANT used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
Synonyms:
ignorant; nescient; unlearned; unlettered
Context example:
exhibiting contempt for his unlettered companions
Similar:
uneducated (not having a good education)
Derivation:
ignorance (the lack of knowledge or education)
ignorantness (ignorance (especially of orthodox beliefs))
Sense 2
Meaning:
Uneducated in the fundamentals of a given art or branch of learning; lacking knowledge of a specific field
Synonyms:
ignorant; illiterate
Context example:
he is musically illiterate
Similar:
uneducated (not having a good education)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Unaware because of a lack of relevant information or knowledge
Synonyms:
ignorant; unknowing; unknowledgeable; unwitting
Context example:
his rudeness was unwitting
Similar:
uninformed (not informed; lacking in knowledge or information)
Derivation:
ignorance (the lack of knowledge or education)
Context examples
And, of course, I cannot pretend to be ignorant of the object of your visit.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
Then you must have important evidence, of which we are ignorant, for they were said to be a most united couple.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
But, aunt, she is really so very ignorant!
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
“They have none of them much to recommend them,” replied he; “they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.”
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
How could you suppose me ignorant?
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
I am not ignorant how much I have been censured for mentioning this last particular.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
These good people were absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was quite as valuable as a gold-mine.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Helen was talking to herself now: she had forgotten I could not very well understand her—that I was ignorant, or nearly so, of the subject she discussed.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
It will be a comfort to me to know that I have one ally in the hall, however inefficient and ignorant of the subject he may be.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"Whose end of tongue is sharp, the edge of his head must be hard" (Breton proverb)
"Be aware of the idiot, for he is like an old dress. Every time you patch it, the wind will tear it back again." (Arabic proverb)
"Stretch your legs as far as your quilt goes." (Egyptian proverb)