untaught
Without formal education
Untaught describes someone who has not received formal instruction or training: an untaught genius who learned music by ear.
It can also describe knowledge or skills that come naturally rather than through teaching: an untaught instinct for survival.
The word sometimes carries judgment—suggesting ignorance or lack of refinement—but can also imply raw, unschooled talent.
Lacking formal instruction
- unschooledLacking formal instruction
- unlearnedLacking acquired knowledge
- uninformedLacking necessary knowledge
- unenlightenedLacking awareness or knowledge
naive · unknowing · uninitiated · unacquainted · inexperienced · benighted · illiterate · untutored
Learning independently, without instruction
- self-directedManaging oneself without supervision
- experientialDerived from direct involvement
- unschooledLacking formal instruction
- unlicensedWithout official permit
uncredentialed · unofficial · unstructured · unsystematic · spontaneous · improvised · ad-hoc · casual
Arising without conscious thought
- inbornExisting from birth
- inherentExisting as essential part
- intuitiveKnown without reasoning
- naturalNot artificially produced
hardwired · genetic · congenital · hereditary · biological · intrinsic · native · unlearned
uneducated
Lacking formal instruction
- unschooledLacking formal instruction
- unlearnedLacking acquired knowledge
- uninformedLacking necessary knowledge
unenlightened · naive · unknowing · uninitiated · unacquainted · inexperienced · benighted · illiterate · untutored · unread
autodidactic
Learning independently, without instruction
- self-directedManaging oneself without supervision
- experientialDerived from direct involvement
- unschooledLacking formal instruction
unlicensed · uncredentialed · unofficial · unstructured · unsystematic · spontaneous · improvised · ad-hoc · casual · observational
instinctive
Arising without conscious thought
natural · hardwired · genetic · congenital · hereditary · biological · intrinsic · native · unlearned · preprogrammed
- mindlessbrainless, mindless, witless, senseless, unthinking
untaughtlearned
Having much knowledge
educated · knowledgeable · erudite · scholarly · well-read
untaughttrained
Taught a skill
skilled · expert · experienced · proficient · qualified
teach, teacher, taught, teacherly, unteachable, unteach, unteaches, nonteaching