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Webster 1913 Edition

Illiteracy

Il-lit′er-a-cy

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Illiteracies
(#)
.
[From
Illiterate
.]
1.
The state of being illiterate, or uneducated; lack of learning, or knowledge; ignorance; specifically, inability to read and write;
as, the
illiteracy
shown by the last census
.
2.
An instance of ignorance; a literary blunder.
The many blunders and
illiteracies
of the first publishers of his [Shakespeare’s] works.
Pope.

Webster 1828 Edition

Illiteracy

ILLIT'ERACY

,
Noun.
[from illiterate.] The state of being untaught or unlearned; want of a knowledge of letters; ignorance.

Definition 2024

illiteracy

illiteracy

English

Noun

illiteracy ‎(countable and uncountable, plural illiteracies)

  1. (uncountable) The inability to read.
    Illiteracy is widespread in certain areas of the country.
  2. (uncountable) The portion of a population unable to read, generally given as a percentage.
  3. (countable) A word, phrase, or grammatical turn thought to be characteristic of an illiterate person.

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:illiteracy.

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology

in- +‎ literacy

Pronunciation

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