ignorance

I1G2N1O1R1A1N1C3E1
UK/ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns/US/ˈɪɡ.nɚ.əns/New Zealand/ˈəɡ.nə.ɹəns/

noun

The condition of being uninformed or uneducated; lack of knowledge or information.

“She shows total ignorance about the topic at hand.”

CommonScrabble 12

Meanings

ignorance1

nounignorance (countable and uncountable, plural ignorances)

plural ignorances · alternative ignoraunce

  1. countableuncountableThe condition of being uninformed or uneducated; lack of knowledge or information.

    She shows total ignorance about the topic at hand.

    2 more examples

    The guard was paying no attention whatever to the running of his train, in total disregard of rules, and, as the recently-published report of a Ministry of Transport Inspecting Officer of Railways shows, there were other disquieting features in the case, such as ignorance on the part of responsible men of rules and appendix instructions and a lax attitude to regulations of which they professed to be aware, combined with failure to look at staff notice boards.

    1956 September, “Notes and News: The Barby Sidings Accident Report”, in Railway Magazine, page 638

    There had been the whisky and Perrier in the morning but, in my ignorance of alcoholics then, I could not imagine one whisky harming anyone who was driving in an open car in the rain.

    1964, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 156

    Synonyms: blindness, cluelessness, knowledgelessness, unawareness, unknowingness, unknowledge

  2. countablein pluraluncountablelifestyleSins committed through ignorance.
  3. countableuncountableExistential blindness.

Ignorance2

proper noun

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe condition of being uninformed or uneducated; lack of knowledge or information.

Origin

  1. Latinignōrantia
  2. Old Frenchignorance
  3. Middle Englishignoraunce
  4. Englishignorance

From Middle English ignoraunce, ignorance, from From Old French ignorance, from Latin ignōrantia. By surface analysis, ignor(e) + -ance.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans onkunde
  • onkundecondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Ancient Greek ἄγνοια, ἀμαθία
  • ἄγνοια (ágnoia)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ἀμαθία (amathía)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Arabic جَهْل, جَهَالَة
  • جَهْل (jahl)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • جَهَالَة (jahāla)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Bulgarian неве́жество, незна́ние
  • неве́жество (nevéžestvo)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • незна́ние (neznánie)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • неве́дение (nevédenie)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Catalan ignorància
  • ignorànciacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Chinese Mandarin 無知 /无知
  • 無知 /无知 (wúzhī)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Czech neznalost, nevědomost
  • neznalostcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • nevědomostcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Danish uvidenhed
  • uvidenhedcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Dutch onwetendheid, ignorantie
  • onwetendheidcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ignorantiecondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • onkundecondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Esperanto nescio
  • nesciocondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Estonian teadmatus, asjatundmatus
  • teadmatuscondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • asjatundmatuscondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • võhiklikkuscondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ignorantsuscondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Finnish tietämättömyys
  • tietämättömyyscondition of being uninformed or uneducated
French ignorance
  • ignorancecondition of being uninformed or uneducated
German Unwissenheit, Unwissen
  • Unwissenheitcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • Unwissencondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • Nichtwissencondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Greek άγνοια
  • άγνοια (ágnoia)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Hebrew בּוּרוּת
  • בּוּרוּתcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Hindi अज्ञान, अविद्या
  • अज्ञान (ajñān)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • अविद्या (avidyā)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • बेखबरी (bekhabrī)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • नासमझी (nāsamjhī)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • नादानी (nādānī)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • बेसमझी (besamjhī)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • अनभिज्ञता (anbhijñatā)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Hungarian tudatlanság
  • tudatlanságcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Icelandic fáfræði, fáviska
  • fáfræðicondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • fáviskacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • vanþekkingcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • þekkingarleysicondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • fákunnáttacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • vankunnáttacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Indonesian ketidaktahuan
  • ketidaktahuancondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Irish aineolas, ainbhios
  • aineolascondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ainbhioscondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Italian ignoranza
  • ignoranzacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Japanese 無知
  • 無知 (muchi)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Korean 무지
  • 무지 (muji)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Latin ignorantia
  • ignorantiacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Latvian nezināšana
  • nezināšanacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Lithuanian nežinojimas
  • nežinojimascondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Māori kūaretanga
  • kūaretangacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Norwegian Bokmål uvitenhet
  • uvitenhetcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Persian جهل, جهالت
  • جهل (jahl)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • جهالت (jehâlat)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • نادانی (nâdâni)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Polish ignorancja, niewiedza
  • ignorancjacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • niewiedzacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • nieuctwocondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • nieznajomośćcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • nieświadomośćcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Portuguese ignorância
  • ignorânciacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Punjabi ਬੇਖ਼ਬਰ, ਬੇਸਮਝ
  • ਬੇਖ਼ਬਰ (bexbar)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ਬੇਸਮਝ (besmajh)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ਨਦਾਨ (nadān)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ਅਣਜਾਣ (aṇajāṇ)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ਅਗਿਆਨ (agiāna)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Romanian ignoranță
  • ignoranțăcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Russian неве́жество, неве́дение
  • неве́жество (nevéžestvo)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • неве́дение (nevédenije)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • незна́ние (neznánije)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • неосведомлённость (neosvedomljónnostʹ)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Scottish Gaelic ainfhios, ainfhiosrachd
  • ainfhioscondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ainfhiosrachdcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • aineolascondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Slovak neznalosť, nevedomosť
  • neznalosťcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • nevedomosťcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Spanish ignorancia
  • ignoranciacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Swahili ujinga
  • ujingacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Swedish okunnighet, ignorans
  • okunnighetcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ignoranscondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • okunskapcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Tagalog kamangmangan, ignoransiya
  • kamangmangancondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • ignoransiyacondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Tamil அறியாமை
  • அறியாமை (aṟiyāmai)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Thai ความไม่รู้
  • ความไม่รู้ (kwaam mâi róo)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Turkish cehalet, bilgisizlik
  • cehaletcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • bilgisizlikcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Ukrainian неві́гластво, неу́цтво
  • неві́гластво (nevíhlastvo)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • неу́цтво (neúctvo)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • незнання́ (neznannjá)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Urdu اگیان
  • اگیان (agyān)condition of being uninformed or uneducated
Vietnamese sự thiếu hiểu biết, sự dốt nát
  • sự thiếu hiểu biếtcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
  • sự dốt nátcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Welsh anwybodaeth
  • anwybodaethcondition of being uninformed or uneducated
Yiddish אומוויסנהײַט
  • אומוויסנהײַט (umvisnhayt)condition of being uninformed or uneducated

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

ignorance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ignorance

MLA

“ignorance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ignorance. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ignorance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ignorance.

Source: ignorance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.