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benighted

[ bih-nahy-tid ]

/ bɪˈnaɪ tɪd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR benighted ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

intellectually or morally ignorant; unenlightened: benighted ages of barbarism and superstition.

overtaken by darkness or night.

Origin of benighted

1565–75; benight ( be- + night) + -ed²

SYNONYMS FOR benighted

1 backward, primitive, crude, uncultivated.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR benighted ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM benighted

be·night·ed·ly, adverb be·night·ed·ness, noun

Words nearby benighted

beni hasan, beni mellal, beni-suef, benicia, benidorm, benighted, benign, benign hypertension, benign inoculation lymphoreticulosis, benign juvenile melanoma, benign migratory glossitis

Example sentences from the Web for benighted

Colonial rhetoric was often virtuous: colonizers would bring civilization to benighted Africans.

Why Africa’s Turning Anti-Gay |Jay Michaelson |March 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
But I quickly realized that no one really thought that—and if they did think that, they were too benighted to worry about.

Is Bravo’s Jewish Princesses Long Island the Most Offensive TV Show Ever? |Andrew Romano |July 22, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Last week, I took it upon myself to introduce you benighted savages to one of the great comedies of modern times.

Why You're Wrong About Monty Python |Tom Doran |March 15, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
I knew immediately where to locate my benighted family and growing restlessness.

In A Very Deep Way: Remembering Rabbi David Hartman |Bernard Avishai |February 21, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

In 1975 he went from benighted Warsaw to far more benighted Luanda to cover the civil war in Angola.

P.J. O’Rourke Picks His Favorite Travel Books |P. J. O’Rourke |November 12, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Blessed should I be if I could beguile a benighted traveller into safety!

Willing to Die |Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
They dwell under the painted lodge of the barbarian, and they burn even in the heart of the benighted heathen.

The Infidel, Vol. II. |Robert Montgomery Bird
Having started rather late in the afternoon, we were benighted before we reached Manlius Square, where we lodged.

A Visit To The United States In 1841 |Joseph Sturge
Benighted Dorothy Lennard, on the other hand, fluked into her wretched success by sheer luck.

Gray youth |Oliver Onions
Go and look at the benighted Romanist, giving money to his priest to pray for his soul, and yet dying without comfort.

Practical Religion |John Charles Ryle

British Dictionary definitions for benighted

benighted

/ (bɪˈnaɪtɪd) /

adjective

lacking cultural, moral, or intellectual enlightenment; ignorant

archaic overtaken by night

Derived forms of benighted

benightedly, adverb benightedness, noun