Definition

1. Noun:
   • Ignorance, especially of orthodox or accepted beliefs: The state of not knowing or being unaware, particularly regarding established doctrines, religious beliefs, or accepted knowledge.
   • (Philosophy) The doctrine that certain knowledge is unattainable: A philosophical position asserting the inherent impossibility of knowing or understanding ultimate truths, especially in metaphysics or theology.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • His argument was dismissed due to his apparent nescience of the basic scientific principles involved.
  • The philosopher's nescience was not a lack of education but a deliberate skepticism about the limits of human understanding.

Advanced Usage

• "Invincible nescience": A state of ignorance that is willful or stubbornly resistant to correction.

  • He clung to his outdated views with an invincible nescience, refusing to consider any new evidence.

• "Profound nescience": A deep or extensive lack of knowledge.

  • The explorer wrote about the profound nescience of the outside world among the isolated tribe.

Variants and Related Words

• Nescient (adj): Characterized by ignorance; lacking knowledge.
  • His nescient remarks about the subject revealed he had not done the required reading.

Synonyms

• Ignorance: Lack of knowledge or information.
• Unawareness: The state of not being informed or conscious of something.
• Unenlightenment: Lack of intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.

Antonyms

• Knowledge: Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education.
• Erudition: Profound, scholarly knowledge.
• Omniscience: The state of knowing everything.

Noun

1. ignorance (especially of orthodox beliefs)