illiteracy
Americannoun
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a lack of ability to read and write.
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the state of being illiterate; lack of any or enough education.
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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.
I wonder, How can seeing a Woman's arms distract you from Dealing with important issues eg Poverty, Illiteracy, Lack Of important Infrastructure etc?
From BBC • Sep. 4, 2018
Illiteracy made it harder for women to escape after they were taken into captivity, because they couldn’t read the signs on unfamiliar buildings in Isis-held towns and cities.
From The Guardian • Jul. 25, 2017
Salon reached out to John Allen Paulos, the prominent mathematician and author of “Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences,” requesting a comment on the controversy.
From Salon • Feb. 2, 2016
Illiteracy is rampant in the country, and many of those overseeing the election received only a day or two of training.
From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2015
Illiteracy was common enough in medieval times, but the mass of the people were by no means entirely uneducated.
From Early European History by Webster, Hutton
Definitions 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.
