preliterate
Americanadjective
-
lacking a written language; nonliterate.
a preliterate culture.
-
occurring before the development or use of writing.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of preliterate
Explanation
Someone who's preliterate hasn't learned how to read or write yet. Your two year-old cousin is probably preliterate. Small children are preliterate, and some people with learning difficulties remain preliterate for much longer. There are even entire preliterate societies, in which no one knows how to read or write. In these cultures, people speak and communicate perfectly well — they just don't have a written version of their language. When you're literate, you can read and write. Both words have a Latin root, literatus, "educated," or literally, "one who knows the letters."
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.
If a child was preliterate she sent books, if floods destroyed towns she gave cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Keller’s comparison between a ship lost in the fog and her preliterate life provides insight into her mental state.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021
Myths themselves commonly embody the religious beliefs of ancient or preliterate peoples, but Philip Ball suggests that we are still generating them.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2021
Reading these books aloud, as I’m doing for our preliterate child, can be a little hard to finesse.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2020
It is difficult to prove that preliterate people were motivated by faith rather than economic necessity.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
