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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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 The long first act drags near the finish, its erudition blurring into dramatic monotony. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 30 June 2024 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 See All Example Sentences for erudition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for erudition
Noun
  • The plan to send a second round of emails was initially disclosed by a person with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
    CHRIS MEGERIAN, TIME, 1 Mar. 2025
  • This account is based on interviews with five people at the network with knowledge of events who asked for anonymity for fear of retribution.
    David Folkenflik, NPR, 1 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Applied Track: For non-STEM students, this track would focus on practical skills like financial literacy, data analysis, and basic coding.
    Scott White, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, similarly told Newsweek that boomers, closer to retirement, worry about savings and escalating expenses.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • These meetings resulted in scholarships, conservation funds, women’s health initiatives, documentary films and exchange programs.
    Emese Maczko, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Their intent was to promote a scholarship for female chefs, but the execution backfired.
    Angelique Kuiper, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Diesel school buses average 6 to 8 miles per gallon, so going electric will result in big fuel savings for local school districts, letting more of our local tax dollars go to education spending.
    James Brock, Sun Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2025
  • His mother, who stayed at home, pressed the value of education.
    Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman, 9 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Despite these strengths, women remain underrepresented in technology; the World Economic Forum warned as early as 2022 of widening gender gaps in AI and machine learning.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Recent advances in machine learning have also reduced the burdens of preparing data for the algorithms to process, making government data a veritable gold mine – one that rightfully belongs to the American people.
    Allison Stanger, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Erudition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/erudition. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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