illiterate

Meaning

Adj

1. Unable to read and write.
2. Having less than an expected standard of familiarity with language and literature, or having little formal education.
3. Not conforming to prescribed standards of speech or writing.
4. Ignorant in a specified way or about a specified subject.

Noun

1. An illiterate person, one either not able to read and write or not knowing how.
2. A person ignorant about a given subject. (The relevant subject is usually named as a noun adjunct.)

Synonyms

uneducated

ignorant

unlettered

unlearned

analphabetic

untutored

uncultured

nonreader

ignoramus

illiterate person

not educated

unschooled

unstudied

untaught

coarse person

pre-literate

analphabet

uneducated person

barbarous

insensible

philistine

rude

simple

stupid

unenlightened

ungrammatical

unknowledgeable

unread

Translations

analphabète

αγράμματος

analfabeta

illettré

analfabeto

αναλφάβητος

analfabeto

analfabet

Analphabet

ongeletterd

analfabetisch

ungebildet

iletrado

incolto

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɪˈlɪtəɹət/

Etymology

First attested in 1425–1475, in Middle English; from Middle English illiterat(e) (“uneducated, ignorant of Latin”), borrowed from Latin illīterātus, illitterātus (“unlearned, ignorant”), itself from in- (“un-”) + līterātus, litterātus (“furnished with letters”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from lītera, littera (“letter, character”). The noun was derived from the adjective by substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).