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Glite Dictionary
📚 Not educated 🐾 Instinctive
unlearned

unlearned

7.2
A natural response or behavior present from birth without being taught
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈlɜrnəd/
translation icon : innato
  • An unconditioned stimulus, something that produces an unlearned, involuntary, unconditioned response.

Examples

  • There are aspects of the sequence that are learned, but most grooming is unlearned and so you don't get a permanent disruption.

  • Well, they do, but only for unlearned behaviors.

  • LESSONS UNLEARNED

    Academic text (2008)

  • Many animals exhibit unlearned instincts that help them survive in the wild.

  • Newborns show unlearned reflexes, such as grasping and sucking.

  • She responded with an unlearned reaction when faced with the sudden loud noise.

Synonyms

innate
vsunlearned
52 5.2

A quality present from birth that is not learned

is broader, covering behaviors present without learning, not only traits from birth
unconditioned
vsunlearned
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A natural response present at birth

is used for responses or behaviors that are innate rather than learned

Antonyms

learned
  • Formal
6.0

Very well educated and knowing a lot about a subject

How Learned

learned
  • Formal
6.0
acquired
  • Specialized
4.1
unlearned
7.2

Surface Forms

unlearned positive
unlearneder comparative
unlearnedest superlative

Morphology

unlearned = learned (semi-transparent) = un + learn + ed

The prefix 'un-' typically negates the adjective 'learned', but the sense of 'innate' or 'instinctive' is not directly derived from the base meaning.

Etymology

Unlearned comes from the parts un- 'not' and learned 'having been taught', so it literally means 'not learned'. That's why an unlearned response is one that happens naturally or automatically, not something you were taught to do.