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illiterate

[ih-lit-er-it]

Origin

adjective

unable to read and write: an illiterate group.

having or demonstrating very little or no education.

showing lack of culture, especially in language and literature.

displaying a marked lack of knowledge in a particular field: He is musically illiterate.

noun

an illiterate person.

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Illiterate is always a great word to know.

So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Origin:
1550–60; < Latin illiterātus unlettered. See il-², literate

Related forms

il·lit·er·ate·ly, adverb

il·lit·er·ate·ness, noun

sem·i-il·lit·er·ate, adjective

sem·i-il·lit·er·ate·ly, adverb

sem·i-il·lit·er·ate·ness, noun

Can be confused: 1. illegible, illiterate, unreadable; 2. illiterate, innumerate.

Synonyms
1. See ignorant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To illiterate

Collins

World English Dictionary

illiterate (ɪˈlɪtərɪt)

—*adj*
1.	unable to read and write
2.	violating accepted standards in reading and writing: an illiterate scrawl
3.	uneducated, ignorant, or uncultured: scientifically illiterate

—n
4.	an illiterate person

il'literacy

—n

il'literateness

—n

il'literately

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

illiterate

1556, from L. illiteratus "unlearned, ignorant," from in- "not" + literatus, lit. "furnished with letters."

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innumerate mumpsimus rude unlettered unreadable

Matching Quote

"I wonder what life means," said my friend when he had apparently just been thinking. "I have no idea," I volunteered in my cheerful manner, helpful and yet lighthearted at the same time; for philosophy was to me both an agreeable and an instructive science and presented many worthwhile topics of significance and entertainment to the whole world, and would be a useful ornament rather than a disgrace in any adult conversation that claims to be mature and reflect these enlightened modern times, when so many human beings have received a college education that illiterate democracy is simply packed solid with an unprecedented quantity of well-rounded cultural ingredients, much to the united pride of this abounding twentieth century intellect"

-Marvin Cohen

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