IGNORANCE IS BLISS Definition & Meaning

Ignorance is bliss

Not knowing something is often more comfortable than knowing it.

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Notes

This proverb resembles “What you don't know cannot hurt you.” It figures in a passage from “On a Distant Prospect of Eton College,” by the eighteenth-century English poet Thomas Gray: “Where ignorance is bliss, / ‘Tis folly to be wise.’”

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Idioms and Phrases

What you don't know won't hurt you. For example, She decided not to read the critics' reviews—ignorance is bliss . Although its truth may be dubious at best, this idea has been expressed since ancient times. The actual wording, however, comes from Thomas Gray's poem, “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College” (1742): “Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.”

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

For public officials, “ignorance is bliss,” Maviglio said, pointing to mutual funds as a way to avoid conflict.

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David Zucker: You are quoted as saying that "ignorance is bliss."

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Abrahams: Maybe we should have called the book "Ignorance is Bliss."

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“Ignorance is bliss,” said Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world competing in his first Ryder Cup on the road.

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“Such great players. Just proves how difficult it is. But we’ve got a lot of fresh blood on the team this year. Only a handful of guys have played over there. I like our chances. Ignorance is bliss.”

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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