EEngVocabularyEnglish vocabulary

Words / C1

noun · C1

Ignorance

IGN-uh-r-uh-ns/ˈɪɡnərəns/

Ignorance is not knowing: ignorance of the rule, wilful ignorance. Ignorant is the adjective (can sound insulting). Stupidity is a different accusation. Ignore (already in the dictionary) is refuse to notice. Do not write ignorance as a polite synonym of “they are stupid”.

Meaning

Lack of knowledge or information (not a synonym of stupidity).

Examples

  • “Ignorance of the embargo is still a breach if the PDF was labelled.”
  • “Ignorance of the embargo is still a breach if the PDF said EMBARGO on the cover.”
  • “Wilful ignorance is choosing not to know; a first-day gap is just newness.”

Good to know

Lack of knowledge (not stupidity). Adjective: ignorant (tone-careful). Verb cousin: ignore (pay no attention). Legal: ignorance of the rule may not excuse.

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