as in ignorant
lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books
the poor benighted souls who do not know the joys of reading
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Recent Examples of benighted
Many critics judge Elvis’s refusal to abandon a rural, working-class culture as backward and benighted, tempering his artistic success.
—
Michael T. Bertrand, The Conversation, 5 June 2024
Afterward, the northern Sayyids were scorned as relics of a benighted theocratic era, and many fell into poverty.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024
There may be a touch of Cloud Atlas-style dystopian condescension in the notion of bringing AI to the benighted continent of Europe.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune Europe, 13 Feb. 2024
Those deaths might be understood as products of an earlier, benighted time, when the average Nigerian knew far less about genetic testing and disease management.
—Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 4 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for benighted 
Michael T. Bertrand, The Conversation, 5 June 2024
Afterward, the northern Sayyids were scorned as relics of a benighted theocratic era, and many fell into poverty.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024
There may be a touch of Cloud Atlas-style dystopian condescension in the notion of bringing AI to the benighted continent of Europe.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune Europe, 13 Feb. 2024
Those deaths might be understood as products of an earlier, benighted time, when the average Nigerian knew far less about genetic testing and disease management.
—Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 4 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for benighted
Thesaurus Entries Near benighted
Cite this Entry
“Benighted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benighted. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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