ignorant

Syllables: ig·no·rant/ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹənt/

ignorant adjective: unknowledgeable or uneducated; characterized by ignorance.

Adjective

ignorant (comparative ignoranter or more ignorant, superlative ignorantest or most ignorant)

Unknowledgeable or uneducated; characterized by ignorance.
- That man that doth not know those things which are of use and necessity for him to know, is but an ignorant man, whatever he may know besides;1664, John Tillotson, “Sermon I. The Wisdom of Being Religious. Job XXVIII. 28.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […], London: […] B. Aylmer...
- The ignorant peasant, without fault, is greater than the philosopher with many; for what is genius or courage without an heart?1766, Oliver Goldsmith, chapter 15, in The Vicar of Wakefield, volume I, London: F. Newbery, page 150
Not knowing (a fact or facts), unaware (of something).
- For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 1:8
- Eve. Somewhat forbids me, which I cannot name;
  For ignorant of guilt, I fear not shame:
  But some restraining thought, I know not why,
  Tells me, you long should beg, I long deny.1677, John Dryden, The State of Innocence and Fall of Man, London: Henry Herringman, act II, page 14
(slang) Ill-mannered, crude.
- His manner was at best off-hand, at worst totally ignorant.
(obsolete) Unknown; undiscovered
- Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- […] I beseech you,
  If you know aught which does behove my knowledge
  Thereof to be inform’d, imprison't not
  In ignorant concealment.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
Resulting from ignorance; foolish; silly.
- […] his shipping—
  Poor ignorant baubles!— upon our terrible seas,
  Like eggshells moved upon their surges, crack’d
  As easily ’gainst our rocks:1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- He had never felt a pain or a sorrow, and did not know what they were, in any really informing way. He had no knowledge of them except theoretically—that is to say, intellectually. And of course that is no good. One can never get any but a loose and ignorant notion of such things except by...1916, Mark Twain, chapter 8, in Albert Paine, editor, The Mysterious Stranger, New York: Harper & Bros., page 112

Noun

ignorant (plural ignorants)

One who is ignorant.

ignorant meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

ignorant in Hindi

characterized by ignorance: अज्ञान ajñān, गँवार gãvār

ignorant in Tamil

ignorant: வெறு veṟu, வெற்று veṟṟu
ignorant, foolish man: முரடன் muraṭaṉ

ignorant in Marathi

ignorant: अडाणी aḍāṇī
ignorant, unlearned: मूढ mūḍh

ignorant in Urdu

ignorant; stupid; unwise; foolish: اگیان agyān
ignorant: انجانا anjānā, مجہول majhūl
ignorant, careless: بے خبر be-xabar

More languagesFewer languages

ignorant in Bengali: মূঢ় mūṛho
ignorant in Telugu: ముగ్ధము mugdhamu
ignorant in Malayalam: പാമരൻ pāmaraṉ
ignorant in Kannada: ಪಾಮರ pāmara
ignorant in Punjabi: ਬੇਖਬਰ bekhbar
ignorant in Gujarati: અજ્ઞાની agnānī, અજાણ ajāṇ
ignorant in Odia: ମୂର୍ଖ murkha
ignorant in Sanskrit: अविद्वस् ávidvas, अविद्य avidya, बालिश bāliśa, कड kaḍá
ignorant in Pashto: چوكره čokra
ignorant in Tagalog: bano, mangmang
ignorant in Arabic: جَاهِل jāhil
ignorant in Malay: jahil
ignorant in Indonesian: bebal
ignorant in Persian: نادان nâdân, عامی 'âmi
ignorant in Vietnamese: ngu dốt, dốt nát, mù chữ

Examples of ignorant in a sentence

That night he slept the sleep of happiness, blissfully ignorant that he had placed the letters in the wrong envelopes.1921, John T. McCutcheon, The Restless Age, Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, page 179:
One can never get any but a loose and ignorant notion of such things except by experience.1916, Mark Twain, chapter 8, in Albert Paine, editor, The Mysterious Stranger, New York: Harper & Bros., page 112:

All 40 example sentences with ignorant

Synonyms of ignorant

25 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of ignorant

Forms of ignorant

Adjective
comparative	ignoranter
comparative	more ignorant
superlative	ignorantest
superlative	most ignorant
alternative form	ignant
alternative form (obsolete)	ignoraunt
Noun
plural	ignorants

Origin of ignorant

From Old French ignorant, from Latin ignōrāns (“unaware, unknowing”). By surface analysis, ignore + -ant.

Words formed from ignorant

Questions about ignorant

What does ignorant mean?: Ignorant means unknowledgeable or uneducated; characterized by ignorance.
What is ignorant in Hindi?: Ignorant in Hindi is अज्ञान (ajñān), गँवार (gãvār). See Ignorant meaning in Hindi.
How do you use ignorant in a sentence?: That night he slept the sleep of happiness, blissfully ignorant that he had placed the letters in the wrong envelopes.
What part of speech is ignorant?: Ignorant can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce ignorant?: Ignorant is pronounced /ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹənt/.

Words near ignorant in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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