untutored

adjective

un·​tu·​tored ˌən-ˈtü-tərd 

-ˈtyü-

1

a

: having no formal learning or training

b

: naive, unsophisticated

2

: not produced or developed by instruction : native

untutored shrewdness

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for untutored

ignorant, illiterate, unlettered, untutored, unlearned mean not having knowledge.

ignorant may imply a general condition or it may apply to lack of knowledge or awareness of a particular thing.

an ignorant fool

ignorant of nuclear physics

illiterate applies to either an absolute or a relative inability to read and write.

much of the population is still illiterate

unlettered implies ignorance of the knowledge gained by reading.

an allusion meaningless to the unlettered

untutored may imply lack of schooling in the arts and ways of civilization.

strange monuments built by an untutored people

unlearned suggests ignorance of advanced subjects.

poetry not for academics but for the unlearned masses

Examples of untutored in a Sentence

to the untutored observer these works of art must seem strange indeed

Recent Examples on the Web

To an untutored lurker, the whole thing seemed like … a frickin’ ballet, or some less dainty choreography, a headlong dance of astounding precision. —Jody Rosen, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023

Blessed with a harsh, untutored, yet inimitably soulful voice, MacGowan forged a blend of traditional Irish folk music and punk rock that was later mimicked outright by bands the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, and left a clear influence on acts such as Gogol Bordello and Mumford and Sons. —Andrew Barker, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023

On behalf of this untutored common man, the Democrats democratized, eliminating the last property restrictions on white men’s voting eligibility while proliferating the number of elective offices in government, from judges to sheriffs to county clerks. —Sam Rosenfeld, The New Republic, 15 Feb. 2022

Most rock vocalists are untutored. —Damon Linker, The Week, 4 Sep. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

untutored

adjective

un·​tu·​tored ˌən-ˈt(y)üt-ərd 

ˈən-

: having no formal learning or training