Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for innumerate. Search instead for innumerates.

innumerate

American  
[ih-noo-mer-it, ih-nyoo-] / ɪˈnu mər ɪt, ɪˈnju- /

adjective

  1. unfamiliar with mathematical concepts and methods; unable to use mathematics; not numerate.


noun

  1. an innumerate person.

innumerate British  
/ ɪˈnjuːmərɪt /

adjective

  1. having neither knowledge nor understanding of mathematics or science

"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

noun

  1. an innumerate person

"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

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of innumerate

First recorded in 1959; in- 3 + numerate


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.

See Examples For:

Answer Man is innumerate in all major numbering systems — Roman, Arabic, hexadecimal — and not so hot in Latin, either.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 4, 2021

To some degree, I think all of us as just a species, we’re a little bit innumerate as it relates to big numbers.

From The Verge ● Nov. 1, 2021

Mr. Mishkin says that, to the contrary, he took Mr. Trump’s prospects so seriously that one of his daughters told him that he was beginning to sound like the innumerate Trump booster Bill Mitchell.

From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2020

I understood how unlikely it was that this would happen again, but I have become emotionally innumerate about pregnancy.

From Slate ● Feb. 7, 2019

Accommodating their innumerate help, the larger franchises now have cash registers which have pictures, on the keys, of the items ordered and automatically add on the appropriate tax.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Just like flashcards, but way more fun

Don't take our word for it. Leave the boring studying behind and join VocabTrainer today. You'll learn even faster and never look back.

Take me to Vocabulary.com