ignorant

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɪɡnəɹənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #6376

Meanings

1

adj
Not knowing about a particular fact or situation.

They were completely ignorant of the danger ahead.
2

adj
Lacking knowledge or education in general.

He was ashamed of how ignorant he had been as a young man.
3

adj
Rude or badly behaved.

It was ignorant of him to leave without saying thank you.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not knowing about a... unaware unwitting

2 adj · lacking knowledge or... illiterate unlearned

More benighted cimmerian clueless foolishill-informedinnocentlack-learninglay lewdlorelessnescient

Opposites

educated familiarknowledgablelearned trained wise

Word family

Forms ignorantly

Derived forms ignorantismignorantistignorantlyignorantnessignoratinonignorantpig-ignorantsuperignorantunignorant

Related forms agnorantignorable ignoramus ignorance ignore impolite

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

ignorant man
A man who lacks knowledge or education in the matter being discussed.

Adjective + noun

Etymology

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

*ǵneh₃- Proto-Indo-European ignorant Old French ignōrāns Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# ignorant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɪɡnəɹənt/
**Frequency rank:** 6376

## Meanings
1. Not knowing about a particular fact or situation.
2. Lacking knowledge or education in general.
3. Rude or badly behaved.

## Examples
- They were completely ignorant of the danger ahead.
- He was ashamed of how ignorant he had been as a young man.
- It was ignorant of him to leave without saying thank you.

## Synonyms
- benighted
- cimmerian
- clueless
- foolish
- ill-informed
- illiterate
- innocent
- lack-learning
- lay
- lewd
- loreless
- nescient

## Antonyms
- educated
- familiar
- knowledgable
- learned
- trained
- wise

## Derived Forms
- ignorantism
- ignorantist
- ignorantly
- ignorantness
- ignorati
- nonignorant
- pig-ignorant
- superignorant
- unignorant

## Related Forms
- agnorant
- ignorable
- ignoramus
- ignorance
- ignore
- impolite

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵneh₃-
- Root: ignorant
- Root: ignōrāns

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

## AI Etymology
Ignorant comes from Old French ignorant, from Latin ignōrāns (“unaware, unknowing”). By surface analysis, ignore + -ant. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. The historical line also includes *ǵneh₃- (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “Not knowing about a particular fact or situation” and “Lacking knowledge or education in general”.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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