Erudition Meaning
/ˌɛɹʊˈdɪʃən/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounProfound knowledge acquired from learning and scholarship.
nounThe refinement, polish and knowledge that education confers.
Sentence Examples
Erudition can produce foliage without bearing fruit.
My brothers will be greatly loved by our citizens because of their erudition and modesty.
Góngora's poetry is characterized by erudition and complex sentences.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The professor's vast ____ impressed the students during the lecture on ancient philosophy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The professor's ____ was evident in the depth and breadth of her lecture.
Word Origin & History
First attested in the 15th Century. From Middle French érudition, from Latin eruditio (“an instructing, learning, erudition”), from erudire (“to instruct, educate, cultivate”, literally “free from rudeness”), from e (“out”) + rudis (“rude”). By surface analysis, erudite + -ion.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Professor Archimedes Q. Porter was their only immediate anxiety. Fully assured in his own mind that his daughter had been picked up by a passing steamer, he gave over the last vestige of apprehension concerning her welfare, and devoted his giant intellect solely to the consideration of those momentous and abstruse scientific problems which he considered the only proper food for thought in one of his erudition."
— 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 179:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The professor's vast ____ impressed the students during the lecture on ancient philosophy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The professor's ____ was evident in the depth and breadth of her lecture.