plead ignorance

idiom

: to say that one knows nothing about something
When asked about the reasons for these drastic changes, she pleaded/pled ignorance.

Examples of plead ignorance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Colleges and universities, fearing further lawsuits, may curtail their actions beyond the minimum legal boundaries of the decision, while advocates of the ruling plead ignorance about the outcomes of their actions. Dominique J. Baker, Scientific American, 7 July 2023 At the other end of this sequence of actors are the battery producers under contract with the global technology corporations, which can plausibly plead ignorance about the many abuses occurring at the far end of the chain. Siddharth Kara, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023 That can create some awkward and even queasy moments, but at this point, nobody in their extended orbit can plead ignorance about the rules of the game. Brian Lowry, CNN, 13 Apr. 2022 And after this fall’s revelations—ranging from the portal for Homeland Security censorship requests to the FBI’s role in suppressing information about the Hunter Biden laptop—company employees can no longer plead ignorance about government involvement. Philip Hamburger, WSJ, 13 Dec. 2022 Davis has to plead ignorance because of what just happened to Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for tampering with Brady — the loss of first- and third-round picks, plus fines and suspensions. Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Aug. 2022 The sophomore defensive end basically admitted Tuesday he and the rest of the Buckeyes are supposed to plead ignorance at any mention of the new position. Nathan Baird, cleveland, 18 Aug. 2022 Following those marching orders might not be for every filmmaker, but at this point nobody can plead ignorance about how the system functions, which requires taking directions as well as giving them. Brian Lowry, CNN, 8 Nov. 2021 Dustin’s first instinct was to panic and plead ignorance. Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plead ignorance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near plead ignorance

Cite this Entry

“Plead ignorance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plead%20ignorance. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!