literacy en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (California) audio
- /ˈlɪtəɹəsi/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈlɪtɹəsi/ (Australia)
- [-ɾ(ə)ɹə-] (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈlətəɹəsi/ (New-Zealand)
- /ˈlətɹəsi/ (New-Zealand)
- /ˈlɪtəɹəsi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈlɪtɹəsi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈlɪtɹəsi/ (Canada, General-American)
- [ˈləɾəɹəsi] (New-Zealand)
Etymology
From liter(ate) + -acy.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) The ability to read and write.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday (September 8, 2025) declared Himachal as a “fully literate State” on the occasion of International Literary Day. […] Journey from 7% to 99.30%: The Chief Minister said Himachal Pradesh had reached this goal well before the scheduled timeframe, adding that the journey from minimal literacy rate of around 7% to full literacy had been full of challenges, yet the State had consistently moved forward with the aim of providing quality education. […] Mr. Sukhu said the literacy rate in Himachal Pradesh had reached 99.30%, which is higher than the national benchmark of 95% […] Union Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar, in a video message, congratulated Himachal Pradesh on this achievement and emphasised the importance of providing skill-based education to the newly literate.
2025 September 8, “Himachal Pradesh becomes ‘fully literate State’. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu says the literacy rate in Himachal reached 99.30%, which is higher than the national benchmark of 95% with the hill State ranking first in student-teacher ratio”, in The Hindu:
-
(broadly, countable, uncountable) The ability to understand and evaluate something.
Returning to the school years later, Diakabana discovered it was a school guard. She wanted to repay him. "He told me to help others when I could, so I launched a scholarship program," says Diakabana, who now lives in Switzerland and is co-founder of The Luminous Agency, which focuses on digital literacy.
2025 November 13, Kamala Thiagarajan, “If you're going to be kind to another human, today is the day to do it!”, in NPR:media literacy
Prof Alan McKee, who led the project, argues that young adults should be taught “porn literacy” to help them “read porn well” and look for healthy and ethical depictions of sex.
2023 June 9, Tory Shepherd, “Can pornography be healthy? If it follows six rules, perhaps”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:computer literacy
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| literacies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Coordinates
Deriveds
ecoliteracy · subliteracy · quasiliteracy · disciplinary literacy · transliteracy · protoliteracy · technoliteracy · preliteracy · pluriliteracy · data literacy · electracy · metaliteracy · semiliteracy · antiliteracy · computeracy · cineliteracy · e-literacy · computer literacy · aliteracy · emergent literacy · multiliteracy · health literacy · information literacy · hyperliteracy · media literacy · sexual literacy · cyberliteracy · cultural literacy · food literacy · mediacy · triliteracy · carbon literacy · biliteracy
Descendants
Relateds
literature · literary · letter · numeracy · literate · literal · graphicacy
Translations (86)
sh писменост (ability to read and write) · de Lese- und Schreibfähigkeit (ability to read and write) · gd litearrachd (ability to read and write) · fi luku- ja kirjoitustaito (ability to read and write) · ka გათვიცნობიერებულობა (understanding of something) · fa باسوادی (ability to read and write) · da læsefærdighed (ability to read and write) · ar مَحْو الْأُمِّيَّة (ability to read and write) · gd litearrachd (understanding of something) · he אוֹרְיָנוּת (ability to read and write) · tr okuma yazma (ability to read and write) · tr okuryazarlık (ability to read and write) · ro știință de carte (ability to read and write) · id literasi (ability to read and write) · ru гра́мотность (ability to read and write) · ro școlire (ability to read and write) · it alfabetismo (ability to read and write) · pt letramento (ability to read and write) · he אוֹרְיָנוּת (understanding of something) · es cultura (understanding of something) · id literasi (understanding of something) · de Bildung (understanding of something) · ka წერა-კითხვა (ability to read and write) · hu írástudás (ability to read and write) · cmn 能力 (understanding of something) · pl alfabetyzm (ability to read and write) · ka წერა-კითხვის უნარი (ability to read and write) · ka განათლებულობა (understanding of something) · cs gramotnost (understanding of something) · crh oqumışlıq (ability to read and write) · de Kenntnisse (understanding of something) · az savad (understanding of something) · pt alfabetização (ability to read and write) · it alfabetizzazione (ability to read and write) · ka მწიგნობრობა (understanding of something) · cs gramotnost (ability to read and write) · sh pismenost (ability to read and write) · ka წერა-კითხვის ცოდნა (ability to read and write) · ka წიგნიერება (understanding of something) · fi lukutaito (ability to read and write) · fr littérisme (ability to read and write) · tl kanulatan (ability to read and write) · te అక్షరాస్యత (ability to read and write) · sv läskunnighet (ability to read and write) · fi lukutaito (understanding of something) · cmn 識字 /识字 (ability to read and write) · nl alfabetisering (ability to read and write) · es alfabetismo (ability to read and write) · cmn 讀寫能力 /读写能力 (ability to read and write) · el αλφαβητισμός (ability to read and write) · el γνώση (understanding of something) · sv läs- och skrivkunnighet (ability to read and write) · fr compréhension (understanding of something) · az savad (ability to read and write) · sh pismenost (understanding of something) · ga litearthacht (ability to read and write) · fr littératie (ability to read and write) · ko 문해 (ability to read and write) · cmn 素養 /素养 (understanding of something) · nl alfabetisme (ability to read and write) · hi साक्षरता (ability to read and write) · th การรู้หนังสือ (ability to read and write) · ru гра́мотность (understanding of something) · mk писменост (ability to read and write) · cy llythrennedd (ability to read and write) · ro instruire (ability to read and write) · sv skrivkunnighet (ability to read and write) · es alfabetización (ability to read and write) · da skrivefærdighed (ability to read and write) · es competencia (understanding of something) · cmn 認字 /认字 (ability to read and write) · ro alfabetizare (ability to read and write) · ml സാക്ഷരത (ability to read and write) · fr alphabétisme (ability to read and write) · ro alfabetism (ability to read and write) · uk гра́мотність (ability to read and write) · pt literacia (ability to read and write) · ckb خوێندەواری (ability to read and write) · sh писменост (understanding of something) · yo mọ̀-ọ́nkọ-mọ̀-ọ́nkà (ability to read and write) · uk письме́нність (ability to read and write) · gl alfabetización (ability to read and write) · pt alfabetismo (ability to read and write) · hi साक्षरता (understanding of something) · pl piśmienność (ability to read and write) · ca alfabetisme (ability to read and write)