illiterate

[ih-lit-er-it]

adjective

1. unable to read and write.

   an illiterate group.

2. having or demonstrating very little or no education.

3. showing lack of culture, especially in language and literature.

4. displaying a marked lack of knowledge in a particular field.

   He is musically illiterate.

noun

1. an illiterate person.

illiterate

/ ɪˈlɪtərɪt /

adjective

1. unable to read and write

2. violating accepted standards in reading and writing

   an illiterate scrawl

3. uneducated, ignorant, or uncultured

   scientifically illiterate

noun

1. an illiterate person

Other Word Forms

• illiterately adverb
• illiterateness noun
• semi-illiterate adjective
• semi-illiterately adverb
• semi-illiterateness noun
• illiteracy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of illiterate¹

First recorded in 1550–60, illiterate is from the Latin word illiterātus unlettered. See il- ², literate

Synonym Study

See ignorant.

Example Sentences

He mocked Senator John Kennedy, a candidate for U.S. president, calling him a “millionaire, illiterate and ignorant.”

Read more on Literature

As the conversation gets rolling, she digs into her roots, explaining that her maternal grandmother was an illiterate indentured servant.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"Digital technology is an opportunity we cannot miss," she said, warning that "those who do not adapt risk becoming the illiterate of the 21st century".

Read more on Barron's

More than once, Sundari gets to school Param and his friend about their assumptions about her state – in one instance, throwing bias back at them about "ignorant, illiterate, arrogant, entitled" north Indians.

Read more on BBC

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.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• ignorant 
• uneducated