ignoramus
Americannoun
plural
ignoramusesnoun
Etymology
Origin of ignoramus
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Herbert is the opposite of the man his daughter married, who may be a genius in the usual ways but shows himself to be an ignoramus when it comes to basic human interaction.
From Salon • Apr. 1, 2021
The term ignoramus was written on bills of indictment when the evidence presented seemed insufficient to justify prosecution.
From Fox News • Mar. 30, 2020
At the risk of sounding like a complete ignoramus, I learned several new words and a term which is always fun: macher, shtetl, and work blue.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2019
Bird ignoramus that I am, I’m paired with an eagle-eyed National Park employee who, for the length of our six-hour hike, abides my frantic cries of “There’s a bird!” and, sometimes, just “Bird?”
From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2018
He laughed once and said, ‘That man is such an ignoramus, Father.’
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
