Definitions
Unable to read and write, or lacking knowledge in a subject.
Word origin
First 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).
Used in a sentence
“About half of the population in Ethiopia is illiterate.”
“He's illiterate […] Seriously, how did he get into RI?”
“Now (exc. in Nautical language, see b) it is only dialectal or an illiterate substitute for lie, its identity of form with the past tense of the latter no doubt accounting largely for the confusion.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Unable to read”10 letters
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