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

So Americans who don't travel, who 80 percent don't have a passport, who are uneducated, are in their extraordinary naivete. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024

So, Americans who don’t travel, who 80 percent don’t have a passport, who are uneducated, are in their extraordinary naïveté. —James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Nov. 2024

Even if Caroline and Kyle had not been in on voting Gabe, the others still would have had the numbers to take him out, but my admittedly uneducated guess is the vote may have then shifted to Genevieve if the Tuku twosome was not on board. —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 21 Nov. 2024

The second group comprises uneducated individuals who engage in daily labor, working on both their own land and the land of others. —Photovogue, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

uneducated

adjective

un·​ed·​u·​cat·​ed

ˌən-ˈej-ə-ˌkāt-əd

: seriously lacking in education and especially in formal schooling