uneducated

adjective

un·​ed·​u·​cat·​ed ˌən-ˈe-jə-ˌkā-təd How to pronounce uneducated (audio)
: having or showing little or no formal schooling : not educated
Owing to my father being left an orphan at the age of six years, in poverty, and in a new country, he became a wholly uneducated man.Abraham Lincoln
an uneducated attitude

Examples of uneducated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The parents are characterized as either considered uneducated or superstitious to understand the value of rehydration salts. Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 27 Feb. 2024 Well, then smaller retailers and restaurants might try to differentiate themselves by keeping the heavier and more premium-appearing bottles, which could appeal to consumers who are uneducated about bottle weight. Erica Duecy, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 For those of you uneducated about Star War Legos, in layman terms this means I was stabbed by a collection of Legos shaped like a prison shiv. Sherry Kuehl, Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2024 Soubirous, who was uneducated, would have had no way of knowing about this relatively obscure dogma, says the Lourdes shrine website. Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 11 Feb. 2024 Economists have debated the reasons for Engel’s Pause, but the leading theory is that early industrial factories depended on large quantities of unskilled and uneducated labor (in fact, many of these early factories employed lots of children). Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2024 Back then, in 2013, everyone realized that this was a populist measure—the Kremlin was thought to be flirting with the most uneducated, homophobic part of the electorate, and to be trying to intimidate liberal intellectuals and cultural figures. TIME, 8 Jan. 2024 Born to uneducated textile workers in Pelzer, South Carolina, Payne told ABC News that education was not a focus of her childhood. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2023 Payne grew up in South Carolina, and was the child of two uneducated mill workers, UNT said. Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 20 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'uneducated.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of uneducated was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near uneducated

Cite this Entry

“Uneducated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uneducated. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

uneducated

adjective
un·​ed·​u·​cat·​ed
ˌən-ˈej-ə-ˌkāt-əd
: seriously lacking in education and especially in formal schooling

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