Ig"no*rance (?), n. [F., fr. L.
ignorantia.] 1. The condition of being
ignorant; the want of knowledge in general, or in relation to a
particular subject; the state of being uneducated or
uninformed.
Ignorance is the curse of God,
Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.
Shak.
2. (Theol.) A willful neglect or
refusal to acquire knowledge which one may acquire and it is his duty
to have. Book of Common Prayer.
Invincible ignorance (Theol.),
ignorance beyond the individual's control and for which,
therefore, he is not responsible before God.