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ἀσύνετος

asýnetos

G801 predicate adjective

SILEX Entry

Definition

Lacking understanding or discernment; without the ability to perceive, comprehend, or make sense of something. In various contexts, describes a person who does not grasp or fails to apprehend moral, ethical, or practical truths, and is thus thoughtless or senseless in behavior. Carries the implication of intellectual or moral deficiency, referring to those who are incapable or unwilling to understand.

Semantic Range

unintelligent, undiscerning, lacking understanding, senseless, foolish, lacking moral discernment, without capacity for insight

Root / Etymology

Formed from the privative alpha (ἀ-) meaning 'not, without,' and συνετός (thoughtful, intelligent, discerning). Hence, ἀσύνετος literally means 'without understanding' or 'undiscerning.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ἀσύνετος described someone lacking in perception or the capacity for intelligent judgment, used both of intellectual inability and, by extension, moral or ethical dullness. In the Hellenistic period and in the Septuagint, it increasingly acquired a sense of moral insensitivity or irrational behavior. In New Testament usage, it primarily indicates a lack of moral insight or discernment—someone incapable of spiritual or ethical understanding (see Romans 1:31, where it is grouped with other vices). English translations often use 'foolish,' 'without understanding,' or 'senseless,' but these do not always capture the nuance of both cognitive and moral deficiency in the term. Unlike related words such as ἄφρων ('foolish, without sense'), ἀσύνετος puts particular emphasis on the failure or inability to comprehend what is proper or right, whether intellectually or ethically.

Translation Consistency

primary "undiscerning" 5 occurrences

Matches the SILEX semantic range (lacking understanding or discernment) and the existing P2 renderings; it is natural English that captures both intellectual and moral lack of insight and will read consistently across all forms.

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from Α (as a negative particle) and συνετός; unintelligent; by implication, wicked:--foolish, without understanding.

Root Family

ἀσύνετος (asynetos) — without understanding, undiscerning, lacking insight, senseless

Root συν- to bring together (with the mind), to perceive, to understand

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G801-02 ἀσύνετοί asunetoi ADJ.P NOM M PL without understanding undiscerning ones undiscerning ones 2
G801-04 ἀσυνέτους asunetous ADJ.S ACC M PL without understanding undiscerning ones undiscerning ones 1
G801-01 ἀσυνέτῳ asuneto ADJ.A DAT N SG foolish to an undiscerning thing undiscerning 1
G801-03 ἀσύνετος asunetos ADJ.S NOM F SG foolish undiscerning woman undiscerning 1

Occurrences in Scripture

5 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G801-02 Matthew 15:16 ἀσύνετοί asunetoi ADJ.P NOM M PL without understanding undiscerning ones undiscerning ones
G801-02 Mark 7:18 ἀσύνετοί asunetoi ADJ.P NOM M PL without understanding undiscerning ones undiscerning ones
G801-03 Romans 1:21 ἀσύνετος asunetos ADJ.S NOM F SG foolish undiscerning woman undiscerning
G801-04 Romans 1:31 ἀσυνέτους asunetous ADJ.S ACC M PL without understanding undiscerning ones undiscerning ones
G801-01 Romans 10:19 ἀσυνέτῳ asuneto ADJ.A DAT N SG foolish to an undiscerning thing undiscerning
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