- 1(of a person) not knowing how to read or write A large percentage of the rural population was illiterate. opposite literate
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- 2(of a document or letter) badly written, as if by someone without much education
- 3(usually after a noun or adverb) not knowing very much about a particular subject area computer illiterate musically illiterate
NAmE//ɪˈlɪt̮ərəsi//
noun [uncountable] The illiteracy rate on the island is still unacceptably high.See illiterate in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation: illiterate