Underinformed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Lacking adequate information or knowledge about a particular subject or situation can lead to misjudgments or poor decision-making
2. Being insufficiently informed regarding essential facts or details may result in misunderstandings or uninformed opinions
3. When one does not possess enough relevant information to make an informed choice, it can create gaps in understanding and judgment

Etymology: "Underinformed" is a plain compound: the prefix "under-", meaning insufficiently or not enough, attached to "informed", the past participle of "inform". The prefix is an old English element, used in words like "undergo" and "underestimate" to mean that something falls short of what is needed. "Informed" carries the older sense of "inform" that English borrowed from Latin "informare," meaning to shape, form, or give form to something. Over centuries "inform" moved from giving shape to a thing toward giving knowledge to a mind, so an informed person is one who has been given knowledge. Adding "under-" reverses that sense: the person has received too little shaping knowledge to act wisely.

Synonyms: misinformed, unaware, uninformed

Antonyms: informed, knowledgeable, aware