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
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
That’s especially true when an economically illiterate news media stokes consumer fears.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
People in Europe were almost entirely illiterate, while there was a high degree of literacy and numeracy in the Muslim world.
—David Conrads, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Adjective
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
That’s especially true when an economically illiterate news media stokes consumer fears.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
People in Europe were almost entirely illiterate, while there was a high degree of literacy and numeracy in the Muslim world.
—David Conrads, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiterate
Adjective
-
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
-
That could be useful for conversations where telegraphic, ungrammatical messages would come off as impolite.—
Tom Simonite,
Wired,
18 Oct. 2020
Adjective
-
But Slingshot’s breach of contract suit alleges that Angel continually broke provisions of their agreement, and sometimes seemed entirely ignorant of them.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Naturally, this poor woman is ignorant of her friend Susan’s role in her granddaughter’s disappearance.—
Chris Klimek,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 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 22 Apr. 2025.
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