I. il ‧ lit ‧ e ‧ rate 1 /ɪˈlɪt ə rət, ɪˈlɪt ə rɪt/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ literature , ↑ literacy ≠ ↑ illiteracy , ↑ illiterate , ↑ literati ; adjective : ↑ literary , ↑ literate ≠ ↑ illiterate ]
1 . someone who is illiterate has not learned to read or write
2 . badly written, in an uneducated way:
It was an illiterate letter, full of mistakes.
3 . economically/politically/scientifically etc illiterate knowing very little about economics, politics etc
—illiteracy noun [uncountable]
II. illiterate 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ literature , ↑ literacy ≠ ↑ illiteracy , ↑ illiterate , ↑ literati ; adjective : ↑ literary , ↑ literate ≠ ↑ illiterate ]
someone who has not learned to read or write