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.

Origin of functional illiterate

First recorded in 1945–50

Related formsfunctional illiteracy, nounfunctionally illiterate, adjective

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British Dictionary definitions for functional illiterate

functional illiterate

noun

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

Derived Formsfunctional 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