The definition of ignorant changed??

[Wing0]

I swear the last time I looked it up, it said something along the lines of "knows something, but doesn't act like you do"

It's messy, but here is an example:

Bob saw proof that aliens are real, but still doesn't believe in them.

But now I look it up, and it means a lack of knowledge :/


It makes more sense to me that it means that you ignore information. "Ignorant" the word "ignore" is literally in it. As in, you ignore proof.

It doesn't make sense to ignore something you don't know, it's not possible.

Also, lots of people use ignorant as an insult. If it means a lack of knowledge, then it shouldn't be used as an insult, and shouldn't be taken as one.

Has anyone else seen the definition that I first saw? I feel like finding a real dictionary and looking it up there.

 

[ssddx]

ignorant
adjective ig·no·rant \ˈig-n(ə-)rənt\

lacking knowledge or information

resulting from or showing a lack of knowledge

having no ​knowledge or ​awareness of something or of things in ​general

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ignorant (adj.) Look up ignorant at Dictionary.com
late 14c., from Old French ignorant (14c.), from Latin ignorantia, from ignorantem (nominative ignorans), present participle of ignorare "not to know, to be unacquainted; mistake, misunderstand; take no notice of, pay no attention to," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + Old Latin gnarus "aware, acquainted with" (cognates: Classical Latin noscere "to know," notus "known"), from Proto-Latin suffixed form *gno-ro-, related to gnoscere "to know" (see know).

Form influenced by Latin ignotus "unknown." Also see uncouth. Colloquial sense of "ill-mannered" first attested 1886. As a noun meaning "ignorant person" from mid-15c.

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as far as i am aware no, the word has not changed definition. it has always meant a lack of knowledge, being uninformed or not being aware of certain knowledge. generally the word gets used detrimentally when describing people whom seem to ignore or not care about knowing information although this is only one use of the word and really describes only the lack-of-knowledge part of that scenario - not the uncaring or avoidance of said knowledge. closed-minded is a much better term overall for describing that scenario.

you will find that in any language it often becomes popular to use a term even if the meaning is different. while this could be described as ignorance (the irony there..) of the meaning it is also true that the public in general is less strict when it comes to proper grammar these days so such things are not so uncommon.

it is also true that some words do change meaning due to popular use or that they have different meanings in different parts of the world or parts of a country. i'm not aware of any such change (in the usa) for ignorant though.

perhaps the word you're thinking of is pretentious.. which means to act like you are more important than you are. arrogant or conceited are other terms with similar meaning of exaggerated self worth. as i said above, closed-minded is another similar term.

 

[giantbucket]

1 - oblivious
2 - ignorant
3 - it's YOUR OWN responsibility to learn that which you do not know, so yes ignorant IS an insult as the target person showed no motivation or accountability, and failed to take the first step and learn. presumably that person simply waits for someone else to show them / teach then / tell them, and is otherwise inactive. brain-dead, if you will.