First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
erudite
adjective er·u·dite \ˈer-ə-ˌdīt, ˈer-yə-\
: having or showing knowledge that is learned by studying
Full Definition of ERUDITE
: having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying : possessing or displaying erudition <an erudite scholar>
— er·u·dite·ly adverb
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Examples of ERUDITE
- He wasn't bashful about showing himself to be feverishly erudite, … terminally droll, and a wizard phrasemaker. —Susan Sontag, New Yorker, 18 & 25 June 2001
- … an engaging fellow: erudite, entertaining, intolerant of trendiness and fearlessly old-fashioned. … He can turn a nice phrase, too. —Mordecai Richler, Wall Street Journal, 2 May 1995
- He was well read, especially in the works of Kipling, a field in which Violet could give him a game, and from time to time they would exchange erudite letters about Kipling characters. —Anthony Powell, The Strangers All are Gone, 1982
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Origin of ERUDITE
Middle English erudit, from Latin eruditus, from past participle of erudire to instruct, from e- + rudis rude, ignorant
Related to ERUDITE
- Antonyms
- benighted, dark, ignorant, illiterate, uneducated, unlearned, unlettered, unscholarly
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