ignoramus

ignoramus
 
noun | ig-nuh-RAY-mus
 
What It Means
 
An ignoramus is an utterly ignorant or stupid person.
 
// I can't believe they let an ignoramus like that run the company.

ignoramus
noun
ig·;no·;ra·;mus ;ig-n;-;r;-m;s  also -;ra-
pluralignoramuses also ignorami ;ig-n;-;r;-m;   also  -;ra-
Synonyms of ignoramus
: an utterly ignorant person : dunce


Did you know?
Ignoramus is the title of a farce by George Ruggle (1575-1622) that was first produced in 1615. The title character, whose name in Latin literally means "we are ignorant of," is a lawyer who fancies himself to be quite clever but is actually foolish and ignorant. Ruggle may have been inspired in his choice of the name by a proceeding in the English judicial system: the term ignoramus was written on bills of indictment when the evidence presented seemed insufficient to justify prosecution. In these cases ignoramus indicated "we take no notice of (i.e., we do not recognize) this indictment." Such a reference would have been most appropriate for Ruggle's satire of the judiciary.

Synonyms
airhead
birdbrain
blockhead
bonehead
bubblehead
chowderhead
chucklehead
clodpoll
clodpole
clot [British]
cluck
clunk
cretin
cuddy [British dialect]
cuddie
deadhead
dim bulb [slang]
dimwit
dip
dodo
dolt
donkey
doofus [slang]
dope
dork [slang]
dullard
dum-dum
dumbbell
dumbhead
dummkopf
dummy
dunce
dunderhead
fathead
gander
golem
goof
goon
half-wit
hammerhead
hardhead
idiot
imbecile
jackass
know-nothing
knucklehead
lamebrain
loggerhead [chiefly dialect]
loon
lump
lunkhead
meathead
mome [archaic]
moron
mug [chiefly British]
mutt
natural
nimrod [slang]
nincompoop
ninny
ninnyhammer
nit [chiefly British]
nitwit
noddy
noodle
numskull
numbskull
oaf
pinhead
prat [British]
ratbag [chiefly Australian]
saphead
schlub [slang]
shlub
schnook [slang]
simpleton
stock
stupe
stupid
thickhead
turkey
woodenhead
yahoo
yo-yo
Examples of ignoramus in a Sentence
I can't believe they let an ignoramus like that run the company.
only an ignoramus would be foiled by the building's security system
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And yet Danielle is currently playing The Traitors so poorly — making big, sloppy, conspicuous moves, alienating potential allies, and fancying herself an Oscar-winning actress while displaying community-center theatrics — that even scene-stealing ignoramus Tom Sandoval has taken notice.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2025
And finally, there is Remy (Guillaume Cyr), a well-meaning security guard at the Quebec Maple Association who is a bit of an ignoramus.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 6 Dec. 2024
Under the Tories’ watch, the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street in London was occupied by a dyspeptic culture warrior (Theresa May), who was succeeded by a fustian blowhard (Boris Johnson), who begot an economic ignoramus (Liz Truss).
—Lee Hockstader, Washington Post, 5 July 2024
Don’t let demagogues and blowhards and ignoramuses tell you otherwise.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 19 June 2024

Word History
Etymology
Ignoramus, ignorant lawyer in Ignoramus (1615), play by George Ruggle, from Latin, literally, we are ignorant of

First Known Use
circa 1616, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ignoramus was circa 1616
See more words from the same year
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