ignorant
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
not knowing about something or lacking education in a specific area.
destitute of knowledge or education; lacking information regarding a specific subject.
Simple“Many people are ignorant of the new tax laws that were passed last year.”
In context“The public remains largely ignorant of the complex geopolitical factors that precipitated the current energy crisis.”
UsageOften followed by the preposition 'of'.
PitfallHe is ignorant about the law. He is ignorant of the law.While 'about' is sometimes used, 'ignorant of' is the standard prepositional pairing for this sense.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
behaving in a way that is rude, impolite, or shows a lack of respect.
displaying a lack of manners or social grace; discourteous.
Simple“It was very ignorant of him to interrupt the speaker in the middle of a sentence.”
In context“The customer's ignorant behaviour toward the waitstaff caused a significant disturbance in the dining room.”
Teacher's tipIn many dialects, particularly in British and Irish English, this is a very common way to call someone rude rather than just uninformed.
From Old French ignorant, from Latin ignōrāns (“unaware, unknowing”). By surface analysis, ignore + -ant.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.