benighted

adjective

be·​night·​ed bi-ˈnī-təd How to pronounce benighted (audio)
bē-
Synonyms of benighted
1
: overtaken by darkness or night
Benighted travellers … have seen his midnight candle glimmering.—W. B. Yeats
2
: existing in a state of intellectual, moral, or social darkness : unenlightened
spreading their message among these poor benighted people
a strange, benighted country
benightedly adverb
benightedness noun

Synonyms of benighted

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of benighted in a Sentence

the poor benighted souls who do not know the joys of reading
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
If or when the elephants die, our own benighted species will surely not be far behind. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026 Repeal the benighted Jones Act, which raises energy and shipping costs. — Editorial, Boston Herald, 30 Mar. 2026 Repeal the benighted Jones Act, which raises energy and shipping costs. — Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026 Like the original Outlander, Blood of My Blood is believably frank about the possibility of assault in the benighted past. — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for benighted

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of benighted was in the 15th century

Rhymes for benighted

See All Rhymes for benighted

Browse Nearby Words

benight
benighted
benign
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Benighted.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/benighted. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster on benighted

Nglish: Translation of benighted for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All