literate

CEFRB2

/ˈlɪtəɹət/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Able to read and write.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Knowledgeable in literature, writing; literary; well-read.

Examples

  • An illiterate man was fair game for the literate exploiters who contributed to his domination.

  • Yanni was barely literate and spoke little Berber.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Which is used in writing (of a language or dialect).

  2. Able to read and write; having literacy.

  3. Able to understand and evaluate something.

More examples

In context

  • I think Tom is literate.

  • Intelligence tests are biased toward the literate.

  • The reason literature plays a unique role in any literate culture is its longevity.

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

In the medieval village, very few people were blank enough to read the king's decree.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Inherited from Middle English litterate, borrowed from Latin lītterātus, līterātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix). Doublet of literato and literatus. Displaced native Old English stæfwīs.