illiterate
unable to read and write: an illiterate group.
having or demonstrating very little or no education.
showing lack of culture, especially in language and literature.
displaying a marked lack of knowledge in a particular field: He is musically illiterate.
an illiterate person.
Origin of illiterate
1synonym study For illiterate
Other words from illiterate
- 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
Words that may be confused with illiterate
- illiterate , innumerate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use illiterate in a sentence
Proust has to be corrected in one way: It's not "a few illiterates" who care only for political agreement.
And I think there are people who are just moral illiterates.
He wished, I imagine, to give some idea to the young illiterates of the simple laws of motion and force.
Prince Zaleski | M.P. ShielOur illiterates are largely foreigners who have not been in our country long enough to become educated.
Paul and the Printing Press | Sara Ware BassettCertainly to supply only about one-half as many illiterates per hundred as the Germans is a notable record.
Bohemia under Hapsburg Misrule | Various
In 1900 the percentage of illiterates among the Bohemians entering the United States was 3.
Bohemia under Hapsburg Misrule | VariousBut as construed and enforced it is not confined to illiterates but to persons of intelligence as well.
The Facts of Reconstruction | John R. Lynch
British Dictionary definitions for illiterate
/ (ɪˈlɪtərɪt) /
unable to read and write
violating accepted standards in reading and writing: an illiterate scrawl
uneducated, ignorant, or uncultured: scientifically illiterate
an illiterate person
Derived forms of illiterate
- illiteracy or illiterateness, noun
- illiterately, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse