Basic Details
Word: Learned
Part of Speech: Adjective, verb
Meaning: As an adjective (said learn-ed), having a great deal of knowledge gained from long study, as in a learned scholar. It is also the past tense of learn.
Synonyms: scholarly, educated, well-read, erudite
Antonyms: ignorant, uneducated
How to Spell Learned
Syllables: learn - ed
Tricky part: The ea in the middle is easy to forget because it sounds like the ur in turn. As an adjective the word has two syllables, but the spelling does not change.
Watch out for: lerned, learnd, leanred
Memory tip: Hidden inside learned is the word ear: you learn a lot by using your ear, so l-EAR-ned.
Usage Examples
Example 1: My brother learned to swim in the village pond during the summer holidays.
Example 2: The learned judge listened to both lawyers before giving her decision.
Example 3: We learned a new Bihu song for the annual day function.
Fun Fact
English has two past forms of learn: learned is used everywhere, while learnt is common in British English. Only learned, said with two syllables, works as the adjective meaning scholarly.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to learned as used in the sentence:
The learned professor answered every question about Mughal coins without looking at a single note.
a) nervous
b) scholarly
c) wealthy
d) ignorant
Show answer
b) scholarly. Here learned is said learn-ed and means full of knowledge from study, which is what scholarly means; ignorant is its opposite.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Ravi nadlere the whole poem by heart in a single evening.
a) leaned
b) yearned
c) learned
d) earned
Show answer
c) learned. Seven letters are jumbled, and only learned uses all seven; leaned has no r and earned has no l.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our grandmother lerned to drive at sixty and now takes the whole family to the temple fair every Sunday morning.
a) temple
b) morning
c) lerned
d) grandmother
Show answer
c) lerned. Learn keeps its ea in every form, so the past tense is learned.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In 'a learned doctor', the word learned is pronounced ____.
a) learn-ed, with two syllables
b) leen-ed, like lean
c) lurnd, with one syllable
d) lar-ned, like barn
Show answer
a) learn-ed, with two syllables
2. Which person would most likely be called learned?
a) a runner who wins races
b) a historian of old texts
c) a shopkeeper who opens early
d) a toddler taking first steps
Show answer
b) a historian of old texts
