Ignorance is bliss

Not knowing something is often more comfortable than knowing it.

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This proverb resembles “�� 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

�� 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.

Ignorance is bliss, at least for bigots.

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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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ignorance ignorant

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