ERUDITION Synonyms: 16 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the noun 'erudition' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of erudition are knowledge , learning , and scholarship . While all these words mean "what is or can be known by an individual or by humankind," erudition strongly implies the acquiring of profound, recondite, or bookish learning. // an erudition unusual even in a scholar

Q: When might 'knowledge' be a better fit than 'erudition'?

While the synonyms knowledge and erudition are close in meaning, knowledge applies to facts or ideas acquired by study, investigation, observation, or experience. // rich in the knowledge of human nature

Q: When can 'learning' be used instead of 'erudition'?

The meanings of learning and erudition largely overlap; however, learning applies to knowledge acquired especially through formal, often advanced, schooling. // a book that demonstrates vast learning

Q: When could 'scholarship' be used to replace 'erudition'?

In some situations, the words scholarship and erudition are roughly equivalent. However, scholarship implies the possession of learning characteristic of the advanced scholar in a specialized field of study or investigation. // a work of first-rate literary scholarship

erudition

noun

ˌer-ə-ˈdi-shən

Definition of erudition next

as in knowledge

the understanding and information gained from being educated a scientist of impressive erudition but with a down-to-earth manner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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How does the noun erudition differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of erudition are knowledge, learning, and scholarship. While all these words mean "what is or can be known by an individual or by humankind," erudition strongly implies the acquiring of profound, recondite, or bookish learning.

an erudition unusual even in a scholar

When might knowledge be a better fit than erudition?

While the synonyms knowledge and erudition are close in meaning, knowledge applies to facts or ideas acquired by study, investigation, observation, or experience.

rich in the knowledge of human nature

When can learning be used instead of erudition?

The meanings of learning and erudition largely overlap; however, learning applies to knowledge acquired especially through formal, often advanced, schooling.

a book that demonstrates vast learning

When could scholarship be used to replace erudition?

In some situations, the words scholarship and erudition are roughly equivalent. However, scholarship implies the possession of learning characteristic of the advanced scholar in a specialized field of study or investigation.

a work of first-rate literary scholarship

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of erudition Horowitz’s erudition, combined with his energy, is a powerful sales tool. —

Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024 Making Global Society: A Study of Humankind Across Three Eras By Barry Buzan Cambridge University Press, 2023, 522 pp. Loading... With characteristic ambition and erudition, Buzan tells the sweeping story of the rise and evolution of modern global society. —

Barry Buzan, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Though a few reviews recognized the book’s originality and astonishing erudition, sales were meager. —

Eugene Linden, TIME, 21 Apr. 2024 These traditional institutions—including, more recently, Harvard—are steeped in a sense of stoicism, seriousness, and erudition. —

Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for erudition

Recent Examples of Synonyms for erudition

Noun

Senior officials, with knowledge of the league, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, said there was always going to be a period of calm before another significant splash.

— Dan Sheldon, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
People with knowledge of AI scams would have been suspicious of the Dewji videos, in which the tycoon appears stilted and robotic.

— John Hyatt, Forbes, 5 Feb. 2025