What is the meaning of benighted?

verb

  • Overtake with darkness or night.
  • Envelop with social, intellectual, or moral darkness.
    • usage: "The benighted peoples of this area"
  • Make darker and difficult to perceive by sight.

adjective

  • Overtaken by night or darkness.
    • usage: "benighted (or nighted) travelers hurrying toward home"
  • Lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture.
    • usage: "this benighted country"; "benighted ages of barbarism and superstition"; "the dark ages"; "a dark age in the history of education"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). benighted. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/benighted/definitions/1169173
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "benighted" http://smartdefine.org/benighted/definitions/1169173 (accessed September 21, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, benighted, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/benighted/definitions/1169173>.
MLAWordNet. "benighted" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/benighted/definitions/1169173>
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