uneducated

adjective

un·​ed·​u·​cat·​ed ˌən-ˈe-jə-ˌkā-təd 

: 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

Synonyms

• analphabetic
• benighted
• dark
• ignorant
• illiterate
• nonliterate
• rude
• simple
• uninstructed
• unlearned
• unlettered
• unread
• unschooled
• untaught
• untutored

Examples of uneducated in a Sentence

a literary reference that could not be grasped by an uneducated person

Recent Examples on the Web

Tina Siemens, a local historian in Gaines County who has assisted Edwards in the clinic, pushed back against the notion that the Mennonites in the area are uneducated about the disease or their decision not to vaccinate. —Erika Edwards, NBC News, 10 Mar. 2025

Democracy dies from an uneducated, uniformed and illiterate citizenry. —Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2025

Only an uneducated person or an unnecessarily cruel person would think otherwise. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 21 Jan. 2025

In response, the governor suggested the president was uneducated about water policy, and declined to criticize him when asked about Democrats’ response to the brief pause in federal funding for state governments. —Lia Russell, Sacramento Bee, 8 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for uneducated

• abbreviated
• accelerated
• accentuated
• accommodated
• acculturated
• accumulated
• acidulated
• adjudicated
• administrated
• adulterated
• affiliated
• agglomerated

Kids Definition

uneducated

adjective

un·​ed·​u·​cat·​ed

ˌən-ˈej-ə-ˌkāt-əd

: seriously lacking in education and especially in formal schooling