Question

Is ignore the root of ignorant and ignorance?

I want to use ignorance as a form of ignore because I don't know what else to use in this case. If it does work, that's great! If it is not acceptable, what would you recommend instead? The sentence is, "It is my belief that she is expressing her frustration at society's impossible standards and blatant ignorance towards the Golden Rule through this poem."

Answer 1

While both ignore and ignorant have similar etymologies, their meaning has diverged throughout their development. While 'ignore' refers to not paying attention to something, 'ignorance' refers to lack of knowledge of something.

While ignoration has been used to convey exactly your intended meaning, it is also a relatively obscure word, and may be better left unused, depending on the purpose and context of the work.

Depending on the intended tone of the work and the measure of intent in those doing the ignoring, some other potential words include 'apathy,' 'disregard,' 'disdain,' 'indifference,' or 'neglect.' E.g.

• "society's impossible standards and apathy towards the Golden Rule"
• "society's impossible standards and blatant disregard for the Golden Rule"
• "society's impossible standards and disdain towards the Golden Rule"
• "society's impossible standards and indifference towards the Golden Rule"
• "society's impossible standards and neglect of the Golden Rule"