unlettered
Americanadjective
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not educated; uneducated; untutored; ignorant.
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not literate; illiterate.
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not marked with letters, as a tombstone.
adjective
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uneducated; illiterate
-
not marked with letters
an unlettered tombstone
Synonym Usage
See ignorant.
Etymology
Origin of unlettered
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at un- 1, lettered
Explanation
Someone who's unlettered hasn't read many books or spent much time in school. Your unlettered cousin might not understand the Shakespearean quotes you like to throw into conversation. Use the adjective unlettered to describe a person who is uneducated or ignorant. In countries where it's difficult for girls to get an education, women end up being unlettered. It's generally harder to get a good paying job when you're unlettered. Unlettered is an anglicized form of the word illiterate, and its root is the Latin litteræ, which means "literature or books," and also "learning or schooling."
Vocabulary lists containing unlettered
Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Latin Love, Vol III: littera
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Henry V
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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.
At the remove of 2½ centuries, that concern seems quaint, for today the real question may be whether the country can prosper if its citizens are ignorant and unlettered.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
Rendered on the page in glyph-laden phonetic spellings that are apt to confound the unlettered, these words take wing when released into sound.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 11, 2022
In this tribal village, most parents are unlettered and unable to help their young children study at home.
From BBC • Aug. 27, 2021
In one indelible review, the conservative critic Hilton Kramer lamented the “spectacle of mandarin sensibilities masquerading as unlettered but lyrical stumblebums.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 3, 2020
I memorized it: ‘The praise of the unlettered by the highly educated is one of the primary themes of “elitist” literature.’
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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.
