What Does It Mean if Two Words Are Antonyms
A lack of self-awareness is not typically a desirable quality. It's also quite difficult to think of good words to describe people who suffer from such a thing. This article will pick out the best antonyms for someone who is self-aware.
Which Words Can Describe Someone Who Is The Opposite Of Self-Aware?
There are plenty of words we can use to talk about someone who is not self-aware. However, we'll focus on the key ones in this article, which are:
- Oblivious
- Clueless
- Uninformed
- Unsophisticated
- Naive
- Foolish
- Simple
The preferred version is "oblivious" because it works well when you're talking about somebody who lacks any kind of self-awareness. If they're not sure how to interpret their own thoughts and feelings, then you might think of them as an "oblivious" person.
Oblivious
Let's start with the most popular choice (and the one that most closely resembles what we're looking for).
Someone who is oblivious often has no regard for other people's feelings and the things they say. This shows their lack of self-awareness because they don't care what words come out of their mouth, as they don't think too much about them.
The definition of "oblivious," according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is "not conscious of something, especially what is happening around you."
Generally, oblivious people aren't people you'd spend much time with in your life. You'll try your best to avoid them because they have a habit of making everyone around them feel bad about themselves.
One of the most common traits of someone who isn't self-aware is someone who can't understand why the things they're saying are wrong or hurtful. An oblivious person is the best example of this, which is why we included it as the preferred version.
You might see an oblivious person pop up in the following ways:
- She is completely oblivious to the world around her, and I don't understand how she's made it this far.
- You're the most oblivious person I've ever met, and you really should do something to work on that.
- I've never known someone as oblivious as him. Sometimes, it's like I'm talking to a cardboard cutout.
Clueless
A clueless person is very similar to someone who is oblivious. Generally, we use "clueless" to mean that someone "does not have a clue." In this case, it means they can't think for themselves and lack a basic amount of general knowledge that might help them.
The definition of "clueless," according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is "having no knowledge of something, or of things in general."
Clueless people have a hard time navigating their lives, especially when lots of problems start to stack on top of each other. They make their own life much harder than it needs to be, which is why we thought it was such a good choice for this list.
You might see clueless people in the following examples:
- You're clueless, and I don't think that's a good thing. You really need to focus up!
- Would you stop focusing on the little things over there and come and help me with this project, you clueless buffoon!
- He's nothing but a clueless fool, and he has absolutely no self-awareness about the things he says or does.
Uninformed
"Uninformed" isn't the best word to use for a lack of self-awareness because it has so many other meanings, but it still works well when someone isn't "informed" about their own thoughts and abilities.
The definition of "uninformed," according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is "not knowing much or having much information about something."
While an uninformed person might simply be someone who hasn't got a lot of information, in the case of lacking self-awareness, uninformed people generally don't know how to be good people.
They'll often have overlooked the most important factors that make people good friends or enjoyable people to be around. Uninformed people in this way are easy to pick out.
- You're uninformed on all of the things that are most important to making someone a decent human being.
- It seems like you're uninformed on the things that make people great, and it shows.
- He's uninformed, and I wouldn't want anything more to do with him if I were you.
Unsophisticated
Unsophisticated people have a lack of self-awareness when it comes to things that matter to others. They'll usually not care that people don't like them over certain things.
The definition of "unsophisticated," according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is "not complicated, or not showing a good understanding of culture and fashion; not sophisticated."
The problem with unsophisticated people is that they generally know that they are unsophisticated. However, they also don't care and will do very little to try and correct their behaviors or bring themselves to the point of genuine self-awareness.
- Don't bother yourself with unsophisticated people like her. She has absolutely no idea what's going on around her.
- I'm too unsophisticated, is what they said, but I don't even know why they would say that!
- They're a bunch of unsophisticated losers, and it's best if you avoid them before they poison you with their idiocy!
Naive
Naive people don't always have to lack self-awareness, but when they do, it can make conversing with them challenging. A naive person is someone who is too willing to believe there is good and truth in everybody, and they get in trouble for it.
The definition of "naive," according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is "too willing to believe that someone is telling the truth, that people's intentions, in general, are good, or that life is simple and fair."
Naive people are incredibly quick to trust without a second thought. That's because they don't have any self-awareness that allows them to think for themselves. Instead, they'll happily let other people do all the talking for them.
- Don't worry; you're too naive to understand the way adults are supposed to work in this world.
- She's naive, which makes her really difficult to talk to.
- I can't stand how naive you can be, and you really need to learn about the world before we have another discussion!
Foolish
Foolish people make silly mistakes, and they do so more often than they'd care to admit. They usually make these mistakes due to a lack of self-awareness, which causes them to do things that they might already know are bad.
The definition of "foolish," according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is "unwise, stupid, or not showing good judgment."
A foolish person will have a hard time dealing with certain things because they'll often understand that the things they do are foolish. While they know that they struggle with certain things, they won't be able to stop themselves from repeating them (and causing more problems).
- You're easily the most foolish person I've met in my long life, and I want nothing to do with you.
- Stop being so foolish and think about someone else for a change!
- She's too foolish to think about anything but herself. Even the things she thinks about herself aren't smart!
Simple
Using simple as an adjective to describe somebody who lacks self-awareness is fairly old-fashioned today. It's seen as a derogatory term, and it's best not to use it in most cases. However, it works really well as an antonym nonetheless.
The definition of "simple," according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is "a simple person does not have a normal level of intelligence."
Calling some "simple" is much ruder than calling them anything else that we've listed above. We thought it would be good to include because it highlights all the deficiencies that we're looking for when talking about a lack of self-awareness.
- Why is everyone calling him simple? I thought that was part of his character?!
- You're so simple that it would be impossible to have a genuine and profound conversation with you.
- Stop talking to me in that simple way; it makes you sound condescending and like you don't have an ounce of self-awareness about you.
What Does It Mean To Not Be Self-Aware?
While all of these antonyms for being self-aware are great, it'll be even better if we understand what not being self-aware means in the first place.
If you are not self-aware, it means you are not aware of your own feelings or thoughts. We generally use the term when we're referring to people who are a bit slow to think or a bit foolish in the choices they make.
Typically, people who are not self-aware have a hard time doing most normal things that people can do. Being unaware of yourself usually makes you clumsy, prone to errors, and difficult to understand when you're in a mood that makes you "flappy" or "confused."
Is "Un-Self-Aware" A Word?
Finally, we avoided using this word on the list, but we thought it would be good to talk about "un-self-aware" as a word.
While "self-aware" is a word and uses a hyphenation properly, "un-self-aware" is incorrect and should never be used. It's almost never correct to use two hyphens in one word, and it looks clunky if you try to do so.
What Does It Mean if Two Words Are Antonyms
Source: https://grammarhow.com/opposite-of-self-aware/