known better
Exceeded in understanding
To have known better is to have had enough experience or judgment to avoid a mistake you made anyway.
It implies the error was foreseeable: I knew better than to trust him, but I did it anyway.
Often used in hindsight with regret or self-reproach: She should have known better.
The phrase suggests culpability—you can't claim ignorance when you possessed the wisdom to act differently.
- recognizePerceive as known
- familiarKnown from experience
- acknowledgeConfirm receipt or truth
- hindsightRecognition after the fact
- in retrospectConsidering past events now
remorse · regret · shoulda · responsibility · learning · retrospect · reflection · wisdom · self-awareness · accountability · conscience · perception · comprehension · improvement · naïve · wiser · maturity · lesson
known betterignorant
Lacking knowledge or awareness
uninformed · clueless · unaware · naive · outmatched
known betterunknown
Not yet discovered
obscure · unrecognized · unfamiliar · anonymous · forgotten
known, better, know, knows, knowing, knew, knowledge, knowledgeable, unknown