Shak.
Ig`no*ra"mus (?), n. [L., we are ignorant. See Ignore.] 1. (Law) We are
ignorant; we ignore; -- being the word formerly written on a bill of
indictment by a grand jury when there was not sufficient evidence to
warrant them in finding it a true bill. The phrase now used is, "No
bill," "No true bill," or "Not found," though in some jurisdictions
"Ignored" is still used. Wharton (Law Dict. ). Burn.
2. (pl. Ignoramuses (&?;).) A stupid, ignorant person; a vain pretender
to knowledge; a dunce.
An ignoramus in place and power.
South.
Ig"no*rance (?), n. [F., fr. L. ignorantia.] 1. The condition of being
ignorant; the want of knowledge in general, or in relation to a
particular subject; the state of being uneducated or uninformed.
Ignorance is the curse of God, Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly
to heaven.
Shak.
2. (Theol.) A willful neglect or refusal to acquire knowledge which one
may acquire and it is his duty to have. Book of Common Prayer.
Invincible ignorance (Theol.), ignorance beyond the individual's
control and for which, therefore, he is not responsible before God.
Ig"no*rant (?), a. [F., fr. L. ignorans, -antis, p. pr. of ignorare to
be ignorant. See Ignore.] 1. Destitute of knowledge; uninstructed or
uninformed; untaught; unenlightened.
He that doth not know those things which are of use for him to
know, is but an ignorant man, whatever he may know besides.
Tillotson.