ILLITERACY
illiteracy, analphabetism
(noun) an inability to read
illiteracy
(noun) ignorance resulting from not reading
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
illiteracy (countable and uncountable, plural illiteracies)
(uncountable) The inability to read and write.
(uncountable) The portion of a population unable to read and write, generally given as a percentage.
(countable) A word, phrase, or grammatical turn thought to be characteristic of an illiterate person.
(uncountable, by extension) Unlearnedness; the state of being ignorant or unlettered.
Synonyms
• analphabetism
Antonyms
• literacy
Source: Wiktionary
Il*lit"er*a*cy, n.; pl. Illiteracies. Etym: [From Illiterate.]
1. The state of being illiterate, or uneducated; want of learning, or knowledge; ignorance; specifically, inability to read and write; as, the illiteracy shown by the last census.
2. An instance of ignorance; a literary blunder. The many blunders and illiteracies of the first publishers of his [Shakespeare's] works. Pope.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
6 May 2025
HEEDLESS
(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”
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