Meaning & use
illiterate person
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Meanings
nouncountable
Someone who has never learned to read or write.
Grammar: Countable phrase; use it for one person and 'illiterate people' for more than one.
Patterns
- an illiterate person
- be illiterate
- become illiterate
The charity runs evening classes for illiterate adults in the neighborhood.
He grew up in a village where many older people were completely illiterate.
Calling someone an illiterate person can sound harsh, so teachers usually say they have difficulty reading.
nouncountablefigurativedisapproving
Someone who knows very little about a particular subject or activity.
Grammar: Often used figuratively and slightly disapprovingly after a subject: financially illiterate, politically illiterate.
Patterns
- illiterate in something
- technologically illiterate
- financially illiterate
When it comes to computers, my uncle is practically an illiterate person.
She felt like an illiterate person at the meeting because everyone used technical terms.
Being financially illiterate can cost you a lot of money over time.
Word forms
| plural | illiterate people |
|---|
Common combinations
- functionally illiterate
- Many adults are functionally illiterate and struggle with forms and instructions.
- computer illiterate
- My grandfather jokes that he is computer illiterate.
- an illiterate adult
- The program was designed for illiterate adults returning to study.
- the illiterate population
- The survey measured the illiterate population in rural areas.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unlettered
- More literary and old-fashioned; it describes someone without education, not just without reading skills.
- uneducated
- Wider in meaning: it can mean no schooling at all, while 'illiterate' focuses on reading and writing.
Opposites
Word family
- illiteracy noun
- The state of not being able to read or write.
- literate adjective
- Able to read and write; the opposite quality.
- literacy noun
- The ability to read and write.
Commonly confused: illiterate person or illiterate vs. ignorant?
illiterate person vs illiterate vs. ignorant
'Illiterate' means unable to read or write; 'ignorant' means lacking knowledge in general and can sound insulting.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'illiterate' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Illiterate' describes a person who cannot read or write, so sentence 2 fits. Sentence 1 confuses it with 'fluent'; sentence 3 wrongly describes a book; sentence 4 uses it as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “illiterate person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.