illiterate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In her second term, she introduced a constitutional amendment to reserve 45 seats in the legislature for female MPs, and worked to educate young women - in a country where 70% of them were illiterate.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025
As the conversation gets rolling, she digs into her roots, explaining that her maternal grandmother was an illiterate indentured servant.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025
In the novel, Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the Democratic presidential nomination to Buzz Windrip, who is described as “vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily discredited,” but wins the election in a landslide.
From Salon • May 17, 2025
You would have to be culturally illiterate to be unfamiliar with Michael Jordan.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2025
About 70 percent of people with criminal records did not complete high school, and according to at least one study, about half are functionally illiterate.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Vocabulary lists containing illiterate
I Am Malala
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Freak the Mighty
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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