Synonyms for illiterate
- adjective
- noun
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Ignorant
ignorant, unlettered, uneducated, unlearned, uncultured, rude, uncultivated, analphabetic, untaught, uninstructed, unschooled, untutored, unenlightened, barbarous
Other
uncharactered dated
Noun
Definitions
- adj. 1
Unable to read and write.
About half of the population in Ethiopia is illiterate.
- n. 1
An illiterate person, one either not able to read and write or not knowing how.
Related words
- Word family
- illiteracy
Forms
- Plural
- illiterates → ignoramuses, analphabets, nonreaders…
Choose the right word
Illiterate is without letters and the knowledge that comes through reading.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- ignorant Not only you but also he is ignorant of the truth.
- uneducated Tom is uneducated; he understands absolutely nothing.
- unlearned Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| illiterate | steady | |
| ignorant | steady | |
| uneducated | steady | |
| unlearned | steady | |
| unlettered | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- rude1
- 8 letters
- ignorant3, untaught
- 9 letters
- barbarous3, unlearned, ignoramus4, untutored, nonreader
- 10 letters
- uneducated5, uncultured, unschooled, unlettered, analphabet
- 12 letters
- uncultivated, uninstructed, analphabetic
- 13 letters
- unenlightened4, uncharactered
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (ignorant3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- analphabète
- Italiano
- analfabeta
- Deutsch
- analphabetisch