educated

Word family

• educate
  verbB1
• education
  nounA2
• educational
  adjectiveB1
• educator
  nounB2
• uneducated
  adjectiveB2
• self-educated
  adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe someone who knows a lot, but the source of that knowledge differs. Educated is the broadest term — it usually implies formal schooling or training. Knowledgeable focuses on having deep understanding of specific areas; you can be knowledgeable about cars without any formal education. Learned is a formal, somewhat old-fashioned word that suggests extensive academic study — a learned professor has spent years in research. Well-read narrows the scope to knowledge gained from reading; a well-read person may lack formal degrees but has covered many books. In everyday conversation, educated and knowledgeable are the most common choices. For example: 'She is an educated woman with a degree in economics and is especially knowledgeable about trade policy.'

Common collocations

Etymology

Educated comes from the Latin verb educare, meaning 'to bring up' or 'to rear'. This Latin word is closely related to educere, which literally means 'to lead out' (from e- 'out' and ducere 'to lead'). The idea behind the word is that education draws knowledge out of a person rather than simply filling them with facts. The English verb educate first appeared in the 1400s, and educated as an adjective describing someone who has received schooling became common by the 1600s.