Edified

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɛdɪfaɪd/

Definitions

1. To undergo a process of moral and intellectual improvement, achieving a higher understanding of ethical principles and gaining wisdom through learning
2. To receive profound enlightenment that contributes to both moral development and intellectual growth, enhancing one's grasp on righteousness
3. Having been uplifted in character and knowledge through lessons or experiences

Etymology: "Edified" is the past tense and past participle of "edify," so its history is really the history of that verb. "Edify" comes from Latin "aedificare," meaning "to build," and was formed from "aedes" (a building or temple) together with "facere" (to make). The Latin verb was used literally for constructing buildings, and the sense of building up a person's character or understanding grew out of that picture of construction. The metaphor is the heart of the word. Early uses in English kept the sense of building a structure, and a moral or spiritual meaning developed from that, so that to edify someone was to build them up in virtue or knowledge. Across the centuries the verb came to describe any instruction that improves a person's mind, and "edified" follows that meaning when it describes someone uplifted through learning.

Synonyms: instructed, educated, enlightened

Antonyms: ignorant, unenlightened