What’s The Word For Someone Who Loves To Learn?

People who love to learn don’t depend only on classrooms or professors. They seek answers to every question; their minds are always clouded with ‘how’ and ‘why.’ They have an innate desire to please their inner curiosity and dig deeper until their thirst for answers quenches.

What would you call such a person?

What would be a suitable expression or word for a person passionate about searching, researching, learning new things, and acquiring immense knowledge? Someone who questions everything, looks for answers, and learns with deep understanding.

This is the question I had in mind while deciding the name of this website. Autodidact was the first word that came to my mind, but the name had to be more generic so that people could remember and return to the website more often.

Well, there are many words for the same. Here is a list of the most noteworthy ones:

Autodidact

According to Oxford Dictionary, it means “A self-taught person.” It formed out of the English word Auto (self) and the Greek word didact (teach). In other terms, someone who has acquired knowledge or learned a subject without seeking help from a teacher or formal education institution.

Instead of calling a computer technician, you would fix it on your own.

Philomath

According to Merriam-Webster, it means “A lover of learning: scholar,” especially a mathematics student. This word originated in Greece and was used as a possessor of knowledge in multiple fields.

Polymath

A more profound word for this loveable expression. A polymath is a person whose expertise lies in different subjects. The knowledge is used to solve a specific problem by learnings from every perspective. Polyhistor is another term to describe the same.

Epistemophilic

“Edison had an epistemophilic personality.” This states that Edison had an excessive love or reverence for knowledge. It can be used for – the impulse to inquire.

Sophophilic

Used to describe a person who loves to gather knowledge with a higher emphasis on wisdom. Aristotle and Socrates were the greatest sophophiles of all time.

“There are no foolish questions, and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.”

Charles Proteus Steinmetz

Philosophile

A person who loves to learn about philosophy. A love for a certain kind of thinking and approach toward a specific problem. Such a person is always involved in questioning, arguing with their notions and beliefs, and trying to change one’s mind.

Bibliophile

A person who loves books. Bibliophile or bibliophilism is the act of loving books. It may also be known as “Bookworm” for someone who loves reading or reads them for content.

Sapiosexual

It is formed from two Latin words, Sapien (Wise or Intelligent) and Sexualis (Sexes). A person who finds intelligence to be the most attractive feature of a human being. I have often quoted this word several times in my writings. This should be known and used more often by the masses.

Inquisitive

An inquisitive person is intellectually curious, eager for knowledge, and likes to inquire, research and ask questions.

Curious

The most crucial trait of any knowledge lover. If you’re curious, you want to know what makes someone special happy?

“Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.”

Arnold Edinborough

Amore

Known as the name given to a person who has a deep inner need for quiet, a desire to understand, analyze the world they live in, and learn the deeper truth of this universe.

Erudite

Having or showing great knowledge, mastery, or learning. Possessing or displaying erudition. “An erudious scientist.”

Multipotentialite

Someone who has many different interests and creative pursuits in life. This term is used for someone who displays aptitude and excellence across multiple disciplines like art, economics, and science. Emile Wapnick popularized it in the TED talk Why Some of Us Don’t have One True Calling.

Neophilia

According to Collins Dictionary, it means a tendency to like anything new or a love of novelty. Neophilic is a person who has a fondness for, or obsession with, novelty and change. It is considered a personality trait.

Its opposite is neophobia which means fear of anything new or unwillingness to try anything new.

Learnaholic

The suffix “-holic” is added to a word to denote an addiction to it. Examples: workaholic, readaholic, and chocoholic. Similarly, learnaholic is someone who is addicted to learning and does it more than required.

Wonk

Used in an informal context. According to Cambridge Dictionary, a wonk is a person who works or studies too much, especially someone who learns and knows all the details about something. It relates to enthusiastic interest and excessive attention to minor details in a specialized field such as finance, politics, and science.

Pantomath

A person who wants to know or knows everything. Used to denote a great individual who has achieved the pinnacle of learning and understanding. Finance and advisory companies often use this word to convey relations to extensive expertise.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the best-known knowledge lovers. He opened corpses to learn how the human body functions, played with candles and canvas to see how shadow works and observed water flow to create mechanics. His life was filled with exciting experiments. To learn better, watch this documentary.

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What if the most precise word for this expression hasn’t been coined yet? It is time to put your mind to work. Here is one I came up with, a combination of two Latin words – Curiosus (Curious) + Amator (Lover) = Curiosamator. Make yours and share with this community of knowledge.

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