illiterate
unable to read and write: an illiterate group.
having or demonstrating very little or no education.
showing lack of culture, especially in language and literature.
displaying a marked lack of knowledge in a particular field: He is musically illiterate.
an illiterate person.
Origin of illiterate
1synonym study For illiterate
Other words from illiterate
- il·lit·er·ate·ly, adverb
- il·lit·er·ate·ness, noun
- sem·i-il·lit·er·ate, adjective
- sem·i-il·lit·er·ate·ly, adverb
- sem·i-il·lit·er·ate·ness, noun
Words that may be confused with illiterate
- illiterate , innumerate
Words Nearby illiterate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use illiterate in a sentence
Despite increasing literacy globally, over 770 million adults are still illiterate.
These Maps Reveal the Profound Progress and Peril of Modern Civilization | Robert Muggah | December 8, 2021 | Singularity HubIt’s even harder to find an authentic signature by Jackson, because the baseball legend grew up on a farm in South Carolina and was illiterate, meaning he didn’t sign many autographs.
A ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson photo sold for $1.47 million. Here’s why it was so valuable. | Andrew Golden | October 8, 2021 | Washington PostThe courts place the burden of proof on the people accused of being foreigners, many of whom are poor and illiterate, unable to navigate a convoluted system or afford legal representation.
India’s Anti-Immigrant Crackdown Has Torn Apart Families and Locked Up Hundreds. 1.9 Million People Fear They Could Be Next | Neha Thirani Bagri/Dalgaon, India | September 6, 2021 | TimeIn his autobiography, Vartan recalled how his beloved illiterate grandmother used to tell him that character was everything, possessions ephemeral, reputation enduring.
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities: The Bountiful Life of Vartan Gregorian | Richard Stengel | April 18, 2021 | TimeMore than 90 percent of the formerly enslaved were illiterate, and education was seen as a source of power and independence, and as a tool for having control over their own lives.
My great-grandmother Ida B. Wells left a legacy of activism in education. We need that now. | Michelle Duster | February 11, 2021 | Washington Post
For my technologically illiterate mother, the idea of paying bills online provokes as much anxiety as throwing something away.
Her mother was illiterate, but she secured a tutor for both her sons and her daughters, and Juana could read by the age of 3.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun | Katie Baker | November 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“At first I was happy to be learning to read,” explains the hapless adult illiterate Office Barbrady in an early episode.
An ICRW survey in Afghanistan in 2010 found that 71 percent of parents who married off their daughters were illiterate.
Libya was then the poorest country in the world and nearly illiterate.
It’s Not the USA that Made Libya the Disaster it is Today | Ann Marlowe | August 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe second step taken arose from the necessity of making this speech of the illiterate capable of elevated expression.
Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred DownerBut at a period more piously illiterate, things of this shadowy nature were linked very closely to objects of a material kind.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian Sharmanilliterate but romantic, she was swept off her feet at the first touch of passion, and the flattery of being recognized!
The Underworld | James C. WelshIt accordingly searches out illiterate children of school age, or persons smitten with infectious disease.
English Poor Law Policy | Sidney WebbThe final d is also omitted by illiterate speakers; Usted is pronounced Uste, and even de becomes e. B and v are interchangeable.
Spanish Life in Town and Country | L. Higgin and Eugne E. Street
British Dictionary definitions for illiterate
/ (ɪˈlɪtərɪt) /
unable to read and write
violating accepted standards in reading and writing: an illiterate scrawl
uneducated, ignorant, or uncultured: scientifically illiterate
an illiterate person
Derived forms of illiterate
- illiteracy or illiterateness, noun
- illiterately, adverb
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
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