unschooled
Lacking formal education
Unschooled means lacking formal education or training: an unschooled but naturally gifted musician.
It can describe someone untaught in a particular skill or field: unschooled in the ways of diplomacy.
The word sometimes carries a positive connotation—suggesting raw talent or instinct uncorrupted by conventional instruction.
Cannot read or write
- unletteredUnable to read
- untaughtNever given lessons
- untrainedLacking learned skills
- unlearnedLacking acquired knowledge
uninstructed · uninformed · unenlightened · benighted · ignorant · nescient · unversed · uninitiated
Arising without conscious thought
- intuitiveKnown without reasoning
- naturalNot artificially produced
- inbornExisting from birth
- inherentExisting as essential part
native · untaught · hardwired · genetic · intrinsic · spontaneous · organic · unlearned
Lacking finish or refinement
- unrefinedNot processed or polished
- roughUneven in surface
- crudeUnpolished, raw state
- untutoredWithout formal instruction
undeveloped · unformed · unshaped · rough-hewn · uncultivated · coarse · rustic · natural
Free from moral wrong
- ingenuousInnocently frank and trusting
- unworldlyLacking practical awareness
- inexperiencedLacking practical knowledge
- greenColor of vegetation
unsophisticated · guileless · artless · credulous · trusting · impressionable · childlike · wide-eyed
Educated without instructors
- self-educatedLearned independently, no schooling
- self-directedManaging oneself without supervision
- self-studyLearning independently, without guidance
- self-instructionEducating oneself independently
curious · resourceful · book-learned · experiential · hands-on · nontraditional · self-motivated · persevering
illiterate
Cannot read or write
- unletteredUnable to read
- untaughtNever given lessons
- untrainedLacking learned skills
unlearned · uninstructed · uninformed · unenlightened · benighted · ignorant · nescient · unversed · uninitiated · unstudied
instinctive
Arising without conscious thought
inherent · native · untaught · hardwired · genetic · intrinsic · spontaneous · organic · unlearned · primal
unpolished
Lacking finish or refinement
untutored · undeveloped · unformed · unshaped · rough-hewn · uncultivated · coarse · rustic · natural · unprocessed
innocent
Free from moral wrong
- ingenuousInnocently frank and trusting
- unworldlyLacking practical awareness
- inexperiencedLacking practical knowledge
green · unsophisticated · guileless · artless · credulous · trusting · impressionable · childlike · wide-eyed · unaware
self-taught
Educated without instructors
- self-educatedLearned independently, no schooling
- self-directedManaging oneself without supervision
- self-studyLearning independently, without guidance
self-instruction · curious · resourceful · book-learned · experiential · hands-on · nontraditional · self-motivated · persevering · diligent
- novicesnovice, beginner, rookie, newbie, greenhorn
- naivetenaivety, naive, innocence, gullible, gullibility
- innocenceinnocent, innocence, purity, pure, blameless
- intelligencesmart, IQ, memory, bright, clever
- mental statesknowledge, conscious, mood, anxious, memory
- mindlessbrainless, mindless, witless, senseless, unthinking
unschooledschooled
Formally taught something
educated · trained · lettered · well-educated · credentialed
unschooledlearned
Having much knowledge
erudite · knowledgeable · well-read · well-informed · scholarly
unschooledexpert
Highly skilled practitioner
trained · skilled · experienced · proficient · practiced