Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Learned
Learn′ed
(lẽrn′ĕd)
, Adj.
Of or pertaining to learning; possessing, or characterized by, learning, esp. scholastic learning; erudite; well-informed;
as, a
learned
scholar, writer, or lawyer; a learned
book; a learned
theory.The
learned
lover lost no time. Spenser.
Men of much reading are greatly
learned
, but may be little knowing. Locke.
Words of
– learned
length and thundering sound. Goldsmith.
Learn′ed-ly
, adv.
Learn′ed-ness
, Noun.
Every coxcomb swears as
learnedly
as they. Swift.
Definition 2024
learned
learned
See also: learnèd
English
Pronunciation
- (adjective):
- (verb):
Verb
learned
Adjective
learned (comparative more learned, superlative most learned)
- Having much learning, knowledgeable, erudite; highly educated.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.iii:
- the learned Merlin, well could tell, / Vnder what coast of heauen the man did dwell [...].
- 1854, Charles Edward Pollock, Lake v. Plaxton, 156 Eng. Rep. 412 (Exch.) 414; 10 Ex. 199, 200 (Eng.)
- My learned Brother Cresswell directed the jury to make the calculation [...].
- 2011 Feb, Jess Lourey, “A Pyramid Approach to Novel Writing”, in Writer, volume 124, number 2, page 30-32:
- The book opens with the Time Traveler dining with learned peers in late 1800s England, where he is trying to convince them that he has invented a time machine.
- 2011 Spring, Jill Lepore, “How Longfellow Woke the Dead”, in American Scholar, volume 80, number 2, page 33-46:
- HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW used to be both the best-known poet in the English-speaking world and the most beloved, adored by the learned and the lowly ...
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.iii:
Alternative forms
Usage notes
- This adjectival sense of this word is sometimes spelled with a grave accent. This is meant to indicate that the second ‘e’ is pronounced as /ɪ/ or /ə/, rather than being silent, as in the verb form. This usage is largely restricted to poetry and other works in which it is important that the adjective’s disyllabicity be made explicit.
Synonyms
- (having much knowledge): brainy, erudite, knowledgeable, scholarly, educated
- See also Wikisaurus:learned
Antonyms
- (having little knowledge): ignorant, stupid, thick, uneducated
Derived terms
terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)
Translations
having much learning
|
Etymology 2
From Old English leornian (“to acquire knowledge”)
Alternative forms
- learnt (UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; rarely used in American English)
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /lɜːnt/, IPA(key): /lɜːnd/
- (US) enPR: lûrnd, IPA(key): /lɛɹnd/
Verb
learned
- simple past tense and past participle of learn
Adjective
learned (comparative more learned, superlative most learned)
- Derived from experience; acquired by learning.
- Everyday behavior is an overlay of learned behavior over instinct.
Translations
acquired by learning
Statistics
Most common English words before 1923: instead · giving · presence · #657: learned · minutes · appear · thoughts