illiterate
An illiterate person, one either not able to read and write or not knowing howAn illiterate person, one either not able to read and write or not knowing how.
Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
» I suspect Tom and Mary are illiterate.
Я підозрюю, що Том і Мері неписьменні. — deniko
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 sensesAn illiterate person, one either not able to read and write or not knowing how.
Analphabet, Analphabetin
негра́мотныйnegrámotnyj
a person unable to read
A person ignorant about a given subject. (The relevant subject is usually named as a noun adjunct.)
Their government is run by business illiterates.
Sometimes a mathematical illiterate is called an innumerate.
Examples
83 sentencesI suspect Tom and Mary are illiterate.
Я підозрюю, що Том і Мері неписьменні. — deniko
I suspect that Tom and Mary are illiterate.
Я підозрюю, що Том і Мері неписьменні. — deniko
Are you illiterate?
Ти що, неписьменний? — Walentinio
ruТы неграмотный? — marafon
deBist du Analphabet? — Adelpa
I'm not illiterate.
Я не неписьменний. — deniko
ruЯ не неграмотный. — Balamax
deIch bin kein Analphabet. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
I wonder if Tom is illiterate.
ruДумаю, не неграмотен ли Том. — Ooneykcall
deIch frage mich, ob Tom überhaupt lesen und schreiben kann. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
First attested in 1425–1475, in Middle English; from Middle English illiterat(e) (“uneducaFirst 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).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: illiterates| Singular | illiterate |
|---|---|
| Plural | illiterates |
regular
Synonyms
4 synonyms- a person unable to read:illiterate personnonreader
Word family
2 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.