illiteracy
Americannoun
-
illiteracies
plural
-
a lack of ability to read and write.
-
the state of being illiterate; lack of any or enough education.
-
a mistake in writing or speaking, felt to be characteristic of an illiterate or semiliterate person.
a letter that was full of illiteracies.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of illiteracy
First recorded in 1650–60; illiter(ate) + -acy
Explanation
Illiteracy is the inability to read. You can help someone overcome illiteracy by reading together, or even by sharing your knowledge of vocabulary. The word literacy means “the ability to read.” By adding the prefix il-, you change the meaning of the word to its opposite. Illiteracy can refer not only to the inability to read but also to a lack of knowledge in other subject areas. If you’ve never heard of Shakespeare, some people might consider you culturally illiterate.
Vocabulary lists containing illiteracy
A Raisin in the Sun
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The Kite Runner
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Workshop 1, Part 1
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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:
The singer’s upbringing, particularly her father’s illiteracy and his shame around what he considered a shortcoming, was what inspired her to launch the Imagination Library.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
In response to interruptions from across the Senedd floor, he replied: "Have a look at illiteracy rates for students graduating."
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
He referred to a 10-point plan that Caribbean nations have put to European nations, including international debt cancellation, as well as support for healthcare and illiteracy eradication.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
Walsh treats well-documented, widely accessible historical facts as if they were buried state secrets, weaponizing the baseline historical illiteracy of his audience to construct a narrative of deception.
From Salon ● May 20, 2026
But despite his illiteracy, or maybe because of it, Hassan was drawn to the mystery of words, seduced by a secret world forbidden to him.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Oborne and Roberts usefully memorialise Trump at his most naively tawdry, and preserve some treasurable illiteracies.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 1, 2020
Particularly as they addressed themselves to missionaries, they wished to warn them away from such illiteracies as might undermine their capacities to propagate the faith.
From Diego Collado's Grammar of the Japanese Language by Richard L. Spear
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
