literati

plural noun

li·​te·​ra·​ti ˌli-tə-ˈrä-(ˌ)tē How to pronounce literati (audio)
1
: the educated class
2
: persons interested in literature or the arts

Examples of literati in a Sentence

Boston's 19th-century literati often referred to their city as "the Athens of America"
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
These things have set up a direct line to a specific kind of metropolitan, cool girl literati. Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 14 June 2024 Over the last decade or so, ethnic identity, at least among the internet literati, has been governed by a certain essentialism that holds that culture is biologically ordained by blood. Jp Brammer, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2024 The publisher, William Blackwood, sent copies to select members of the British literati, including Charles Dickens. Namwali Serpell, The New York Review of Books, 12 Oct. 2023 Sarandos was set to accept the Business Visionary Award at the annual PEN American Spring Literary Gala, alongside fellow honoree Lorne Michaels and a host of literati including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Susan Choi, Jennifer Egan, Min Jin Lee, Jay McInerney and Gay Talese. Matt Donnelly, Variety, 10 May 2023 See all Example Sentences for literati 

Word History

Etymology

obsolete Italian litterati, from Latin, plural of litteratus

First Known Use

1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of literati was in 1620

Dictionary Entries Near literati

Cite this Entry

“Literati.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literati. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!