01 a. Destitute of knowledge; uninstructed or uninformed; untaught; unenlightened.
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1.
Destitute of knowledge; uninstructed or uninformed; untaught; unenlightened.“He that doth not know those things which are of use for him to know, is but an ignorant man, whatever he may know besides.” — Tillotson.
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2.
Unacquainted with; unconscious or unaware; -- used with of.“Ignorant of guilt, I fear not shame.” — Dryden.
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4.
Resulting from ignorance; foolish; silly.“His shipping, Poor ignorant baubles! -- on our terrible seas, Like eggshells moved.” — Shak.“In such business Action is eloquence, and the eyes of the ignorant More learned than the ears.” — Shak.“In the first ages of Christianity, not only the learned and the wise, but the ignorant and illiterate, embraced torments and death.” — Tillotson.
Syn.
Uninstructed; untaught; unenlightened; uninformed; unlearned; unlettered; illiterate. -- Ignorant, Illiterate. Ignorant denotes lack of knowledge, either as to single subject or information in general; illiterate refers to an ignorance of letters, or of knowledge acquired by reading and study. In the Middle Ages, a great proportion of the higher classes were illiterate, and yet were far from being ignorant, especially in regard to war and other active pursuits.