aliterate

American  

[ey-lit-er-it] / eɪˈlɪt ər ɪt /

noun

1. a person who is able to read but rarely chooses to do so.

   Schools are worried about producing aliterates who prefer television to books.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of aliterates.

aliterate British  

/ eɪˈlɪtərɪt /

noun

1. a person who is able to read but disinclined to do so

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adjective

1. of or relating to aliterates

Other Word Forms

• aliteracy
  noun

Etymology

Origin of aliterate

see origin at a- ⁶, literate

Example Sentences

We know from studying modern aliterate societies that many of them possess oral traditions of storytelling that provide historical perspective.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

But of all the irksome aspects of Wonderworks, surely the most depressing and symptomatic of our increasingly aliterate age is its calculating utilitarianism.

From Slate • Mar. 26, 2021

According to William A. Baroody, Jr., President of the American Enterprise Institute, the aliterate person scans magazines, reads headlines, "never reads novels or poetry for the pleasures they offer."

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai