illiteracy Hear it!

illiteracy Definition

il·lit·era·cy (i litər ə sē)

noun

  1. the state or quality of being illiterate; lack of education or culture; esp., an inability to read or write
  2. pl. -·cies a mistake (in writing or speaking) suggesting poor or inadequate education

illiteracy Synonyms

illiteracy

n.

lack of education, ignorance, stupidity; see ignorance 2.

illiteracy Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • eradicate: There is a mass campaign aiming to mobilize 100,000 teachers with the aim of eradicating illiteracy.
  • eliminate: Iraq was honored by UNESCO in 1981 for being the first developing country to eliminate illiteracy.
  • tackle: Increasingly, sport is being used to help deliver social policy objectives, such as tackling illiteracy, drug taking and social exclusion.
  • reduce: Objectives of the decade include reducing illiteracy, especially among women.
  • combat: In 1990 the Order received a UNESCO award for its work in combatting illiteracy across the world.

Preposition: in

  • country: A quite remarkable literacy campaign reduced illiteracy in the country to less than one seventh.
  • area: Again, I get tired of people saying there's twenty two percent illiteracy in the area.

Adjective modifier

  • functional: This functional illiteracy means that even the nuances of stories from basic tabloid newspapers are beyond the reach of many deaf adults.
  • widespread: The fad of whole-language teaching has led to widespread illiteracy among U.S. students ' .
  • scientific: We fail to overcome the scientific illiteracy in the media.
  • female: This index measures mortality rate, male life expectancy and female illiteracy.
  • mass: Nor is it acceptable to countenance a future in which mass illiteracy consigns Africa to a marginal role in an increasingly knowledge-based global economy.
  • economic: Because public opinion suffers from severe economic illiteracy, democracies tend to supply economic policies that leave much to be desired.

Modifies a noun

  • rate: Morocco currently has an illiteracy rate of 64 % among women.
  • level: They have the highest infant mortality rates and the highest illiteracy levels.

Noun used with modifier

  • adult: Adult illiteracy fell from 29 percent in 1985 to 24 percent in 1990.
  • computer: Less surprising is the finding that computer illiteracy rises with age.
  • technology: Microsoft seeks to remove the limits to individual potential around the world by eliminating technology illiteracy.
  • %: The 25 % illiteracy rates at the time of the revolution are virtually eliminated.
  • youth: The Cuban youth illiteracy rate is zero, unmatched by any other Latin American country, where the average is 7 % .
illiteracy Quotes

The illiteracy level of our children are appalling.

—Bush, GeorgeW(alker)

Browse dictionary entries near illiteracy

  1. illite
  2. illiquid
  3. Illinoisan
  4. Illinois
  5. illinium
  6. illimitable
  7. Illimani
  8. illicit
  9. illiberal
  10. illegitimate
  1. illiterate
  2. illness
  3. illocutionary
  4. illogic
  5. illogical
  6. illume
  7. illuminance
  8. illuminant
  9. illuminate
  10. illuminated