Main Entry: ne•science

Pronunciation: \NESH-ee-unss\

Function: noun

1 : lack of knowledge or awareness, or ignorance

Main Entry: ne•science

Pronunciation: \NESH-ee-unss\

Function: noun

Etymology: (ca. 1612) Late Latin nescientia, from the Latin adjective nescient- (“not knowing”), from the verb nescire (“not to know), from ne- (“not”) +scire (“to know”)

1 : lack of knowledge or awareness, or ignorance

Synonyms: benightedness, cluelessness, incognizance, innocence, ignorance, obliviousness, unawareness, unfamiliarity

Usage: David’s nescience of how Indians view cattle as sacred doesn’t excuse his poor treatment of such animals.

Quotable Quote: “[Samuel] Johnson was so vexed by a young clergyman’s nescience that he complained, ‘His ignorance is so great, I am afraid to show him the bottom of it.’” —Barry Baldwin