ignoramus

/ˈɪgnəˌreɪməs/

Other forms: ignoramuses

If you've ever been afraid to speak up in class, you might be worried that you'll look like an ignoramus, or an uneducated, ignorant person.

Calling someone an ignoramus is an insult — it's a colorful way to comment on a person's ignorance or stupidity. The word comes right from the Latin ignoramus, literally "we do not know," which was a legal term in the 16th century that could be used during a trial when the prosecution presented insufficient evidence. After George Ruggle's 1615 play "Ignoramus", it came into popular use to mean "fool" or "dunce."

Definitions of ignoramus

1. noun

   an ignorant person
   synonyms: know nothing, uneducated person

   types:

   aliterate, aliterate person

   a person who can read but is disinclined to derive information from literary sources

   illiterate, illiterate person, nonreader

   a person unable to read

   analphabet, analphabetic

   an illiterate person who does not know the alphabet

   functional illiterate

   a person with some ability to read and write but not enough for daily practical needs

   type of:

   unskilled person

   a person who lacks technical training