illiteracy

[ih-lit-er-uh-see]

noun

plural

illiteracies 

1. a lack of ability to read and write.

2. the state of being illiterate; lack of any or enough education.

3. 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

• semi-illiteracy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of illiteracy¹

First recorded in 1650–60; illiter(ate) + -acy

Example Sentences

It’s a tip of the hat to willful blindness, lack of critical thought and historical illiteracy.

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The American public is sinking into a pit of civic illiteracy, a curse that will only grow as the complicity of so many feeds the machine of violence.

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That is, it's the product of media incompetence and public illiteracy.

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White illiteracy rates, for instance, were four times higher in the South than in the North.

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She fears that the absence of this support, due to fear and lack of funds, could increase rates of illiteracy.

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Related Words

• functional illiteracy www.thesaurus.com
• illiterateness www.thesaurus.com