1
as in ungrammatical
violating approved patterns of speaking and writing
most of the messages left on the Web site's bulletin board are illiterate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ignorant
lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books
offered menus with pictures, presumably for the many illiterate people who must eat there
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as in ignoramus
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illiterate
Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
But, oh my goodness, the label Aotearoa New Zealand taunts and provokes the insecure, the historically illiterate, the status-grabbing, the conceited, the dominating, and those for whom the myths and lies of the settler story are truth, are the one world worldview.
—Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
Democracy dies from an uneducated, uniformed and illiterate citizenry.
—Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2025
Since the vast majority of peasants were illiterate, this was an astounding number.
—Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Adjective
To listen to him tell it, in English heavily accented by his native Romansh, this was a peaceful place for illiterate, yet skilled mountaineers and off-piste skiers who know far too much about avalanches.
—Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
But, oh my goodness, the label Aotearoa New Zealand taunts and provokes the insecure, the historically illiterate, the status-grabbing, the conceited, the dominating, and those for whom the myths and lies of the settler story are truth, are the one world worldview.
—Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
Democracy dies from an uneducated, uniformed and illiterate citizenry.
—Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2025
Since the vast majority of peasants were illiterate, this was an astounding number.
—Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiterate
Adjective
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And in general, the A.I. bots were useful for sharpening prose and cleaning up clunky, ungrammatical sentences.—
Brian X. Chen,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2023
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That could be useful for conversations where telegraphic, ungrammatical messages would come off as impolite.—
Tom Simonite,
Wired,
18 Oct. 2020
Adjective
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This situation would be a comedy of errors if not for its ending in tragedy: Andy is ignorant of Sherry’s affections, Sherry has no notion of Crawford’s intentions, and Crawford could not care less about either of them.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
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Some sellers, who may only own a home for a few years, may be ignorant of its past.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
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And finally, there is Remy (Guillaume Cyr), a well-meaning security guard at the Quebec Maple Association who is a bit of an ignoramus.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
6 Dec. 2024
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And yet Danielle is currently playing The Traitors so poorly — making big, sloppy, conspicuous moves, alienating potential allies, and fancying herself an Oscar-winning actress while displaying community-center theatrics — that even scene-stealing ignoramus Tom Sandoval has taken notice.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
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After the know-nothing county board opts to raze the baseball diamond to make way for a school, the teams meet for one final game at their beloved Soldier’s Field, with girlfriends, kids, and local hooligans as intermittent spectators.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
7 Mar. 2025
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Even as Republicans embrace him as an iconoclast, Democrats and other critics have lambasted Kennedy as a know-nothing without the scientific or bureaucratic experience to do the job effectively.—
Dylan Scott,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Illiterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiterate. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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