Library / English Dictionary

LEARN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: learnt   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Gain knowledge or skills

Example:

Children acquire language at an amazing rate

Synonyms:

acquire; larn; learn

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "learn"):

relearn (learn something again, as after having forgotten or neglected it)

catch up (learn belatedly; find out about something after it happened)

absorb; assimilate; ingest; take in (take up mentally)

hit the books; study (learn by reading books)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They learn to move

Derivation:

learner (works for an expert to learn a trade)

learner (someone (especially a child) who learns (as from a teacher) or takes up knowledge or beliefs)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally

Example:

I see that you have been promoted

Synonyms:

discover; find out; get a line; get wind; get word; hear; learn; pick up; see

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Verb group:

find; see; witness (perceive or be contemporaneous with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "learn"):

get the goods (discover some bad or hidden information about)

wise up (get wise to)

catch; trip up (detect a blunder or misstep)

ascertain (learn or discover with certainty)

discover; find (make a discovery)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They learn that there was a traffic accident

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be a student of a certain subject

Example:

She is reading for the bar exam

Synonyms:

learn; read; study; take

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "learn"):

drill; exercise; practice; practise (learn by repetition)

prepare; train (undergo training or instruction in preparation for a particular role, function, or profession)

audit (attend academic courses without getting credit)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Commit to memory; learn by heart

Example:

Have you memorized your lines for the play yet?

Synonyms:

con; learn; memorise; memorize

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "learn" is one way to...):

hit the books; study (learn by reading books)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "learn"):

alternate; understudy (be an understudy or alternate for a role)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Impart skills or knowledge to

Example:

He instructed me in building a boat

Synonyms:

instruct; learn; teach

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "learn" is one way to...):

inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state of affairs, or event to)

Cause:

acquire; larn; learn (gain knowledge or skills)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "learn"):

condition (establish a conditioned response)

edify; enlighten (make understand)

coach; train (teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports)

lecture; talk (deliver a lecture or talk)

ground (instruct someone in the fundamentals of a subject)

unteach (cause to unlearn)

unteach (cause to disbelieve; teach someone the contrary of what he or she had learned earlier)

tutor (be a tutor to someone; give individual instruction)

mentor (serve as a teacher or trusted counselor)

induct (introduce or initiate)

spoonfeed (teach without challenging the students)

reinforce; reward (strengthen and support with rewards)

catechise; catechize (give religious instructions to)

drill (teach by repetition)

indoctrinate (teach doctrines to; teach uncritically)

develop; educate; prepare; train (create by training and teaching)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 6

Meaning:

Find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort

Example:

Check whether the train leaves on time

Synonyms:

ascertain; check; determine; find out; learn; see; watch

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Verb group:

ascertain; assure; check; control; ensure; insure; see; see to it (be careful or certain to do something; make certain of something)

ascertain; determine; find; find out (establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "learn"):

test (determine the presence or properties of (a substance))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They learn whether there was a traffic accident

Credits

 Context examples: 

Biochemical correlates of learning, memory, and other psychological processes.

(Molecular Psychobiology, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

This process is involved in numerous functions, including regulation of mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction, and some cognitive functions including memory and learning.

(Negative Regulation of Serotonin Release, NCI Thesaurus)

When something goes wrong with a part of your nervous system, you can have trouble moving, speaking, swallowing, breathing, or learning.

(Neurologic Diseases, NIH)

This includes the ability to concentrate, remember things, process information, learn, speak, and understand.

(Neurocognitive, NCI Dictionary)

Having to do with the way the brain affects emotion, behavior, and learning.

(Neurobehavioral, NCI Dictionary)

The most learned philosopher knew little more.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Mr. Mason, he found, had a son and daughter; and he learned from him that he could and would give the latter a fortune of thirty thousand pounds: that sufficed.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Most infections in people are mild but the virus sometimes—particularly in children—enters the brain, infects neurons and causes disease ranging from learning and memory difficulties to paralysis, seizures and death.

(Cerebral organoid model provides clues about how to prevent virus-induced brain cell death, National Institutes of Health)

Even in my short life I had learned as much as that—or had inherited it in that race memory which we call instinct.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

All this, and more, I have learned.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)