unlettered

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.

At the remove of 2½ centuries, that concern seems quaint, for today the real question may be whether the country can prosper if its citizens are ignorant and unlettered.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Rendered on the page in glyph-laden phonetic spellings that are apt to confound the unlettered, these words take wing when released into sound.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 11, 2022

In this tribal village, most parents are unlettered and unable to help their young children study at home.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2021

In one indelible review, the conservative critic Hilton Kramer lamented the “spectacle of mandarin sensibilities masquerading as unlettered but lyrical stumblebums.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 3, 2020

“Whut Ah don’t lak ’bout de man is, he talks tuh unlettered folks wid books in his jaws,” Hicks complained.

From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston