functionally illiterate
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
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.
An Education Department study in 2024 found that 1 in 4 young adults are functionally illiterate, even though more than half received high-school diplomas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
She's moved to tears as an illiterate Tasmanian man struggles to read a paragraph for the first time, citing that almost 50% of Tasmanian adults are functionally illiterate.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2022
Under this loophole, functionally illiterate children can still promote to the fourth grade without learning to read.
From Washington Times ● May 8, 2018
Most were functionally illiterate, self-taught and inclined to secrecy.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 9, 2018
About 70 percent of people with criminal records did not complete high school, and according to at least one study, about half are functionally illiterate.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
