illiterate

[ ih-lit-er-it ]

adjective

1. unable to read and write:

   an illiterate group.

2. having or demonstrating very little or no education.
3. showing lack of culture, especially in language and literature.
4. displaying a marked lack of knowledge in a particular field:

   He is musically illiterate.

noun

1. an illiterate person.

illiterate

/ ɪˈlɪtərɪt /

adjective

1. unable to read and write
2. violating accepted standards in reading and writing

   an illiterate scrawl

3. uneducated, ignorant, or uncultured

   scientifically illiterate

noun

1. an illiterate person

Derived Forms

• ilˈliteracy, noun
• ilˈliterately, adverb

Other Words From

• il·liter·ate·ly adverb
• il·liter·ate·ness noun
• semi-il·liter·ate adjective
• semi-il·liter·ate·ly adverb
• semi-il·liter·ate·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of illiterate¹

First recorded in 1550–60, illiterate is from the Latin word illiterātus unlettered. See il- ², literate

Synonym Study

See ignorant.

Example Sentences

Despite increasing literacy globally, over 770 million adults are still illiterate.

From Singularity Hub 

It’s even harder to find an authentic signature by Jackson, because the baseball legend grew up on a farm in South Carolina and was illiterate, meaning he didn’t sign many autographs.

From Washington Post

The courts place the burden of proof on the people accused of being foreigners, many of whom are poor and illiterate, unable to navigate a convoluted system or afford legal representation.

From Time

In his autobiography, Vartan recalled how his beloved illiterate grandmother used to tell him that character was everything, possessions ephemeral, reputation enduring.

From Time

More than 90 percent of the formerly enslaved were illiterate, and education was seen as a source of power and independence, and as a tool for having control over their own lives.

From Washington Post

For my technologically illiterate mother, the idea of paying bills online provokes as much anxiety as throwing something away.

From The Daily Beast

Her mother was illiterate, but she secured a tutor for both her sons and her daughters, and Juana could read by the age of 3.

From The Daily Beast

“At first I was happy to be learning to read,” explains the hapless adult illiterate Office Barbrady in an early episode.

From The Daily Beast

An ICRW survey in Afghanistan in 2010 found that 71 percent of parents who married off their daughters were illiterate.

From The Daily Beast

Libya was then the poorest country in the world and nearly illiterate.

From The Daily Beast

The second step taken arose from the necessity of making this speech of the illiterate capable of elevated expression.

From Project Gutenberg

But at a period more piously illiterate, things of this shadowy nature were linked very closely to objects of a material kind.

From Project Gutenberg

Illiterate but romantic, she was swept off her feet at the first touch of passion, and the flattery of being recognized!

From Project Gutenberg

It accordingly searches out illiterate children of school age, or persons smitten with infectious disease.

From Project Gutenberg

The final d is also omitted by illiterate speakers; Usted is pronounced Uste, and even de becomes e. B and v are interchangeable.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ignorant
• uneducated