benighted
AdjectiveUS[bih-nahy-tid]/bɪˈnaɪtɪd/3 syllables
Open English WordNet
Adjective (2)
- overtaken by night or darkness“benighted (or nighted) travelers hurrying toward home”Synonyms: nightedOpposite on timeSimilar unpunctual
- lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture“this benighted country”“benighted ages of barbarism and superstition”“the dark ages”“a dark age in the history of education”Synonyms: darkOpposite enlightenedSimilar unenlightened
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
“benighted” is listed under benight.
be·night′ (bē-nīt′), transitive verb [past tense & past participle Benighted; present participle & verbal noun Benighting.]
1. To involve in darkness; to shroud with the shades of night; to obscure. archaic
The clouds benight the sky.— Sir Samuel Garth
2. To overtake with night or darkness, especially before the end of a day's journey or task.
Some virgin, sure,... benighted in these woods.— John Milton
3. To involve in moral darkness, or ignorance; to debar from intellectual light.
Shall we to men benighted The lamp of life deny ?— Reginald Heber
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54