Basic Details
Word: Ignorantly
Part of Speech: Adverb
Meaning: In a way that shows someone does not know the facts or the right way to do something.
Synonyms: unknowingly, unwittingly
Antonyms: knowingly, wisely
How to Spell Ignorantly
Syllables: ig - no - rant - ly
Tricky part: The middle is -rant-, never -rent-, and -ly is simply added to ignorant with no extra e.
Watch out for: ignorently, ignorantley, ignorantely
Memory tip: Build it in blocks: ignor + ant + ly. Say the middle as RANT, as if someone is ranting without knowing the facts.
Usage Examples
Example 1: He ignorantly plugged the heater into a loose socket and blew the fuse.
Example 2: Some visitors ignorantly walked across the freshly sown lawn in the city park.
Example 3: She had ignorantly believed that bats were blind until her science teacher explained echolocation.
Fun Fact
The word ignoramus, for a person who knows nothing, became popular through a 1615 Cambridge play called Ignoramus, which made fun of a foolish lawyer.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
ign_r_ntly
a) a, a
b) o, a
c) u, a
d) o, e
Show answer
b) o, a. The word starts as ignore does, so the first gap is o, and ignorant ends in -ant.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. desparately 2. ignorantly 3. defiantley 4. reluctently
a) with great need or with little hope
b) in an unwilling way
c) without knowing the facts
d) openly refusing to obey
Show answer
c) without knowing the facts. Reluctantly takes -ant-, desperately has an e after p, and defiantly ends in plain -ly.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word ignorantly as used in the sentence:
Many tourists ignorantly fed the monkeys at the temple, not realising it made them bold and aggressive.
a) deliberately
b) unknowingly
c) cleverly
d) generously
Show answer
b) unknowingly. The tourists did not realise the harm, so they acted unknowingly; deliberately would mean the opposite.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Someone who speaks ignorantly about a subject ____.
a) refuses to talk about it
b) talks without real knowledge of it
c) has studied it for many years
d) speaks about it very softly
Show answer
b) talks without real knowledge of it
2. Which word comes from the same family as ignorantly?
a) signal
b) dignity
c) ignore
d) ignite
Show answer
c) ignore
