unenlightened

adjective

un·​en·​light·​ened ˌən-in-ˈlī-tᵊnd How to pronounce unenlightened (audio)
-en-
: having or showing a lack of necessary knowledge or understanding : not enlightened
… his disregard for society's margins seems particularly unenlightened.Genevieve Stuttaford
… an audience of unenlightened laymen.Joyce Carol Oates

Examples of unenlightened in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Instead of transitioning these communities into new industries or providing them with the tools to adapt, our legislators have chosen to obscure coal and its workers, treating them as relics of a bygone, unenlightened and even primitive era. Daniel A.c. McBride, Baltimore Sun, 1 June 2025 Dirty work is often assumed to be unenlightened work, but wildland firefighters have a unique empirical understanding of natural forces. M. R. O’Connor, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025 Some are downright funky in their retro prejudices, others more quaintly unenlightened. Lauren Bravo, refinery29.com, 3 Jan. 2024 And the culprit doesn’t seem to be a small number of unenlightened appraisers. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 8 July 2024 See All Example Sentences for unenlightened

Word History

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unenlightened was in 1650

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Unenlightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unenlightened. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on unenlightened

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!