literate

1 of 2

adjective

lit·​er·​ate ˈli-tə-rət 

 also  ˈli-trət

1

a

: educated, cultured

literate executives

b

: able to read and write

What percentage of the population is literate?

2

a

: versed in literature or creative writing : literary

literate novelists

b

: lucid, polished

a literate essay

c

: having knowledge or competence (see competent sense 2)

computer-literate

politically literate

literately adverb

literateness noun

literate

2 of 2

noun

1

: an educated person

2

: a person who can read and write

Synonyms

Adjective

• educated
• scholarly
• civilized

Examples of literate in a Sentence

Adjective

She is literate in both English and Spanish.

What percentage of the population is literate?

The job requires you to be computer literate.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The comptroller added that some undocumented people in immigration court weren’t literate and did not have an advocate with them in court, such as a lawyer or translator. —Lesley Cosme Torres, People.com, 23 June 2025

Business leaders must shift their focus from simply acquiring AI tools to strategically embedding them within human-centric processes, ensuring that twice literate humans are in the loop, empowered and indispensable. —Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025

Noun

But unlike the post-Enron era when adding one qualified financial expert sufficed, the AI revolution demands something far more radical: every director must become AI literate, or risk becoming a liability in the intelligence age. —Steven Wolfe Pereira, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025

For all its challenges, China still has enormous economic advantages relative to India, including a literate, skilled, and comparatively healthy population; greater technological proficiency; and larger capital stocks. —Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English literat, from Latin litteratus marked with letters, literate, from litterae letters, literature, from plural of littera

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for literate

• illiterate

Kids Definition

literate

1 of 2 adjective

lit·​er·​ate ˈlit-ə-rət 

ˈli-trət

1

: educated sense 1, cultured

2

: able to read and write

3

: having knowledge or experience in a particular area

computer literate

literately adverb

literateness noun

literate

2 of 2 noun

1

: an educated person

2

: a person who can read and write