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.
A high number of pupils at the secondary school are "functionally illiterate", meaning they have a reading age well below average when they start Year 7.
From BBC ● May 21, 2025
“He’s functionally illiterate in English,” Mr. Todd, a federal public defender, told the court.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 20, 2020
In a vast country where one in four adults are functionally illiterate, it’s a powerful medium and one that has always favored the status quo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2018
He is also functionally illiterate and does not have a high school diploma.
From Washington Post ● May 17, 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.
