definitions

functional illiterate

noun

a person with some basic education who still falls short of a minimum standard of literacy or whose reading and writing skills are inadequate to everyday needs.

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Nearby words

functional disease, functional disorder, functional food, functional group, functional hypertrophy, functional illiterate, functional imperative, functional isomer, functional load, functional medicine, functional murmur

Origin of functional illiterate

First recorded in 1945–50

Related forms

functional illiteracy, nounfunctionally illiterate, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for functional illiterate

functional illiterate

noun

a person whose literacy is insufficient for most work and normal daily situations

Derived Forms

functional illiteracy, noun
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