ignoramus

[ ig-nuh-rey-muhs, -ram-uhs ]
See synonyms for ignoramus on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural ig·no·ra·mus·es.
  1. an extremely ignorant person.

Origin of ignoramus

1
1570–80; <Latin ignōrāmus we ignore (1st person plural present indicative of ignōrāre to be ignorant of, ignore); hence name of an ignorant lawyer in the play Ignoramus (1615) by the English playwright G. Ruggle, whence current sense

Other words for ignoramus

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How to use ignoramus in a sentence

  • Plotz was, by his own estimation, an inattentive Jew, a biblical ignoramus.

    Is God Evil? | The Daily Beast | March 11, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • This fellow was an ignoramus, did not even understand the Jewish language, and made use therefore of Russian.

  • Any political ignoramus, if hoisted to the "bench," has judicial authority to declare the law,—it is absolute.

  • Why is one born into this world an ignoramus, knowing nothing of the laws, customs and usage one inadvertently breaks?

    The Road to Damascus | August Strindberg
  • "If that luncheon was not expensive, then I am indeed an ignoramus," said Dolly, when they began to figure out its cost.

    Living on a Little | Caroline French Benton
  • But fools will rush in where angels fear to tread, and ignoramus walks with confidence where Eruditus fears to take a step.

British Dictionary definitions for ignoramus

ignoramus

/ (ˌɪɡnəˈreɪməs) /


nounplural -muses
  1. an ignorant person; fool

Origin of ignoramus

1
C16: from legal Latin, literally: we have no knowledge of, from Latin ignōrāre to be ignorant of; see ignore; modern usage originated from the use of Ignoramus as the name of an unlettered lawyer in a play by G. Ruggle, 17th-century English dramatist

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012