benighted

views updated Jun 08 2018

be·night·ed / biˈnītid/ • adj. in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, typically owing to a lack of opportunity: they saw themselves as bringers of culture to poor benighted peoples.DERIVATIVES: be·night·ed·ness n.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

benighted

views updated Jun 27 2018

benighted overtaken by the darkness of night XVI; in intellectual or moral darkness XVII. pp. of †benight vb., f. BE- + NIGHT.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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