benighted

American  

[bih-nahy-tid] / bɪˈnaɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. intellectually or morally ignorant; unenlightened.

   benighted ages of barbarism and superstition.

   Synonyms:

   uncultivated, crude, primitive, backward

2. overtaken by darkness or night.

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benighted British  

/ bɪˈnaɪtɪd /

adjective

1. lacking cultural, moral, or intellectual enlightenment; ignorant

2. archaic overtaken by night

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Other Word Forms

• benightedly adverb
• benightedness noun

Etymology

Origin of benighted

First recorded in 1565–75; be- + night + -ed ²

Example Sentences

It’s more like an existential dilemma, both for our bewildered and benighted country and for the world.

From Salon • Jan. 3, 2026

A young woman from an island community on the brink of extinction sets out on an odyssey across the vastness of the Pacific, hoping to save the people of her benighted home.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

As Winkler repeatedly shows, they — and Oxfordians in particular — tend to see themselves as evangelicals on a mission, tirelessly spreading their persecuted gospel to benighted unbelievers.

From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2023

In February 2018, she wrote an article for the Washington Post, calling Bostic's sentence "benighted and unjust".

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2023

Nelson, as usual, was the one who finally took pity upon our benighted stupidity and told us what was up: kukwela.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver