rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryliterateReading and writing ability
adjective / noun

literate

LIT-er-uht/ˈlɪtərət/

Able to understand and use written language.

The literate man reads a book and writes in his notebook.

A South Asian man confidently reading a book while writing a few lines in a notebook, attentive comprehension.
Etymology
literLatinalphabetic letter
+ateLatinendowed with

Knowing one's letters was a way of describing an educated person. The selected meaning focuses that broader idea on the ability to read and write.

In context

SOAS University of London13:30
translations of popular european novels flooded the market of the most literate female population in the arab world
Women, Writing and the Iraqi Ba'thist State: Contending Discourses of Resistance and Collaboration

More examples

  • She is literate in both English and Spanish.
  • The program helps adults become literate.
  • Many jobs require workers to be computer literate.

Forms

literate · literates

literacy noun — The ability to read and write.

illiterate adjective — Unable to read or write adequately.

Similar words

educated
Suggests broader schooling or knowledge, not just reading and writing.