benightedadj.
/bɪˈnʌɪtɪd/ 1. Overtaken by the darkness of the night; affected by the night (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > day and night > night > [adjective] > affected by night
benighted1575
the world > time > day and night > night > [adjective] > overtaken by night or darkness
belated1618
benighted1810
the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > [adjective] > enveloped in dark of night > overtaken by night
nighted1593
benighted1810
1575 in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign Elizabeth (1845) II. 516 And so are all my lockes Bedecked..With these benighted drops.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 27 He told of his benighted road.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. ix. 168 Some benighted fishermen, he thought.
2. † b. Involved in obscurity. Obsolete.
a. figurative. Involved in intellectual or moral darkness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > intellectual ignorance > [adjective]
thestera900
thestria900
blindc1000
darkc1350
lightless?1406
obscurea1500
mistya1522
blinded1535
unilluminated1579
unlightened1587
stone-blind1596
endarkened1612
dark1628
benighted1637
unenlightened1650
bedarkened1655
unirradiated1792
darkened1856
society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > inspiration or revelation > [adjective] > not
darkc1350
mistya1522
natural1526
endarkened1612
benighted1637
uninspired1700
unirradiated1792
darkened1856
1637 J. Milton Comus 14 He that hides a darke soule, and foule thoughts Benighted walks under the mid-day Sun.
1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh iv. 147 You poets are benighted in this age.
1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea I. iii. 48 He was a benighted Moslem.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [adjective]
higheOE
dighela1000
deepc1000
darkOE
starkOE
dusk?c1225
subtle1340
dimc1350
subtilea1393
covert1393
mystica1398
murka1400
cloudyc1400
hard?c1400
mistyc1400
unclearc1400
diffuse1430
abstractc1450
diffused?1456
exquisitec1460
obnubilous?a1475
obscure?a1475
covered1484
intricate?a1500
nice?a1500
perplexeda1500
difficilea1513
difficult1530
privy1532
smoky1533
secret1535
abstruse?1549
difficul1552
entangled1561
confounded1572
darksome1574
obnubilate1575
enigmatical1576
confuse1577
mysteriousa1586
Delphic1598
obfuscatea1600
enfumed1601
Delphicala1603
obstruse1604
abstracted1605
confused1611
questionable1611
inevident1614
recondite1619
cryptic1620
obfuscated1620
transcendent1624
Delphian1625
oraculous1625
enigmatic1628
recluse1629
abdite1635
undilucidated1635
clouded1641
benighted1647
oblite1650
researched1653
obnubilated1658
obscurative1664
tenebrose1677
hyperbyssal1691
condite1695
diffusive1709
profound1710
tenebricose1730
oracular1749
opaque1761
unenlightening1768
darkling1795
offuscating1798
unrecognizable1817
tough1820
abstrusive1848
obscurant1878
out-of-focus1891
unplumbable1895
inenubilable1903
non-transparent1939
1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 18 Seekers, looking for new Nuntio's from Christ, to assoile these benighted questions.
Derivatives
beˈnightedness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > intellectual ignorance > [noun]
thesterc897
blindness971
theosterleykc1000
darkness?c1425
offuscation1502
obscurationa1550
Cimmerianism1630
benightment1651
blindfoldedness1863
benightedness1865
1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 5 July 1/2 Respectable old Russell Whigs, on whom charges of moral corruption operate much more powerfully than charges of intellectual benightedness.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
<
adj.1575