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innumerate

American  
[ih-noo-mer-it, ih-nyoo-] / ɪˈnu mər ɪt, ɪˈnju- /

adjective

  1. unfamiliar with mathematical concepts and methods; unable to use mathematics; not numerate.


noun

  1. an innumerate person.

innumerate British  
/ ɪˈnjuːmərɪt /

adjective

  1. having neither knowledge nor understanding of mathematics or science

"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

noun

  1. an innumerate person

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of innumerate

First recorded in 1959; in- 3 + numerate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

This one any innumerate person can understand: The injury rate in the NFL is 100 percent.

From Washington Post Jan. 12, 2023

To some degree, I think all of us as just a species, we’re a little bit innumerate as it relates to big numbers.

From The Verge Nov. 1, 2021

Mr. Mishkin says that, to the contrary, he took Mr. Trump’s prospects so seriously that one of his daughters told him that he was beginning to sound like the innumerate Trump booster Bill Mitchell.

From New York Times Sep. 27, 2020

I understood how unlikely it was that this would happen again, but I have become emotionally innumerate about pregnancy.

From Slate Feb. 7, 2019

Correlation and Causation Correlation and causation are two quite different words, and the innumerate are more prone to mistake them than most.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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