Ignorantly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Acting in a way that clearly shows a deficiency in knowledge or understanding
2. In a fashion that reflects a significant unawareness or lack of insight regarding a subject matter
3. In a manner that displays a lack of information or understanding about a topic

Etymology: "Ignorantly" is a plain formation: the adjective "ignorant" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" added to it. "Ignorant" itself comes from Latin "ignorans," the present participle of "ignorare," meaning "not to know," and that verb is built from "in-" (not) and "gnarus" (knowing, acquainted with). The Latin root reaches back to the same Indo-European base as English "know," which is why "ignorant" and "know" are close relatives, separated mainly by a negating prefix. The suffix has a longer story. The "-ly" ending descends from an Old English form "-līċe," which was itself tied to the noun "līc," meaning "body" or "form," so that an adverb once meant something like "in the manner of" a given quality. Over the centuries this ending shrank into the simple marker it is today, and it now attaches freely to adjectives like "ignorant" to turn them into manner adverbs.

Synonyms: unintelligently, naively, inexpertly, foolishly, stupidly

Antonyms: knowingly, intelligently, wisely, consciously, deliberately