illiterate

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪˈlɪtərət/ UK /ɪˈlɪtərət/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
unable to read or write; uneducated

The charity teaches reading to illiterate adults.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · unable to read or write;... unlettereduneducated ignorantunschooledunlearned

Opposites

literate educated learned lettered

Word family

Forms illiterateness

Derived forms illiteratelyilliteracy

Related forms literate literacy letter

Etymology

From Latin illitteratus ('unlearned, ignorant of letters'), from in- ('not') + litteratus ('learned'), from littera ('letter').

illitteratus Latin littera Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# illiterate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪˈlɪtərət/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪˈlɪtərət/

## Meanings
1. unable to read or write; uneducated

## Examples
- The charity teaches reading to illiterate adults.

## Synonyms
- unlettered
- uneducated
- ignorant
- unschooled
- unlearned

## Antonyms
- literate
- educated
- learned
- lettered

## Derived Forms
- illiterately
- illiteracy

## Related Forms
- literate
- literacy
- letter

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: illitteratus
- Root: littera
- Affix: il- - not

## Etymology
From Latin illitteratus ('unlearned, ignorant of letters'), from in- ('not') + litteratus ('learned'), from littera ('letter').

## AI Etymology
illiterate comes from Latin illitteratus ('unlearned, ignorant of letters'), from in- ('not') + litteratus ('learned'), from littera ('letter'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the adjective sense is "unable to read or write; uneducated", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as literate, literacy, and letter, and in derivatives such as illiterately and illiteracy. Its semantic neighborhood includes unlettered, uneducated, ignorant, and unschooled, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin illitteratus and Latin littera.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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