Dictionary

illiteracy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ɪˈlɪt͡ʃɹəsi/
• /ɪˈlɪtəɹəsi/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in- Latin il- English il- English literacy English illiteracy From il- + literacy.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The inability to read and write.
   • The heroines of these plays speak out against intraracial biases, stereotyping, lynchmobs, illiteracy, poverty, promiscuity, self-righteousness, verbally abusive men, rape, and miscegenation. […] Without warning the doctor, she chokes the life out of her child in order to keep him safe from white lynchmobs. 1990, Elizabeth Brown-Guillory, “Preface”, in Wines in the Wilderness: Plays by African American Women from the Harlem Renaissance to the Present, New York, N.Y.: Praeger Publishers, →ISBN, page xiv:
   • Illiteracy is widespread in certain areas of the country.
   • While some local governments ignore the illiteracy problem, others are actively campaigning to teach people to read and write. In the villages of Xiping County in Henan Province in central China, students stop visitors and ask them to read a few characters on a blackboard. Any visitor who cannot read the characters is not allowed to enter the village. This means that illiterates are effectively grounded, and in frustration many have joined the special reading classes offered in each village. Now in Xiping County, according to local officials, only 1.7 percent of those between the ages of 20 and 40 are illiterate. 1994 September 4, Sheryl WuDunn, “China's Rush to Riches”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 May 2015, Section 6, page 38:
2. (uncountable) The portion of a population unable to read and write, generally given as a percentage.
3. (countable) A word, phrase, or grammatical turn thought to be characteristic of an illiterate person.
4. (broadly, uncountable) Unlearnedness; the state of being ignorant or unlettered.

Forms

Antonyms

literacy

Coordinates

innumeracy · semiliteracy · subliteracy

Deriveds

e-illiteracy · computer illiteracy

Relateds

illiterate · aliteracy · alphabetism

Synonyms

analphabetism

Translations (50)

ckt айгоԓяткэгыргын (inability to read and write) · hu analfabetizmus (inability to read and write) · pt iliteracia (inability to read and write) · fr illettrisme (inability to read and write) · sh неписменост (inability to read and write) · ru негра́мотность (inability to read and write) · es analfabetismo (inability to read and write) · fi lukutaidottomuus (inability to read and write) · pl niepiśmienność (inability to read and write) · sh nepismenost (inability to read and write) · tl dikanulatan (inability to read and write) · cdo 青盲牛 (inability to read and write) · tl kamaangan (inability to read and write) · ru безгра́мотность (inability to read and write) · te నిరక్షరాస్యత (inability to read and write) · ka წერა-კითხვის უცოდინრობა (inability to read and write) · sv analfabetism (inability to read and write) · pl analfabetyzm (inability to read and write) · kk сауатсыздық (inability to read and write) · es agrafia (inability to read and write) · ja 文盲 (inability to read and write) · ga neamhlitearthacht (inability to read and write) · fr analphabétisme (inability to read and write) · hu írástudatlanság (inability to read and write) · eo analfabeteco (inability to read and write) · ja 非識字 (inability to read and write) · hi निरक्षरता (inability to read and write) · nn analfabetisme (inability to read and write) · ca analfabetisme (inability to read and write) · es agrafía (inability to read and write) · ar أُمِّيَّة (inability to read and write) · bg неграмотност (inability to read and write) · nb analfabetisme (inability to read and write) · da analfabetisme (inability to read and write) · kmr nexwendewarî (inability to read and write) · it analfabetismo (inability to read and write) · cs negramotnost (inability to read and write) · fo ólesi (inability to read and write) · gl analfabetismo (inability to read and write) · cmn 文盲 (inability to read and write) · fr illittérature (inability to read and write) · nl analfabetisme (inability to read and write) · pt analfabetismo (inability to read and write) · ckb نەخوێندەواری (inability to read and write) · id buta aksara (inability to read and write) · mk неписменост (inability to read and write) · lo ຄວາມບໍ່ຮູ້ໜັງສື (inability to read and write) · de Analphabetismus (inability to read and write) · kw anlettryseth (inability to read and write) · la analphabētismus (inability to read and write)