literate
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literate
- /ˈlɪtəɹət/
Where it comes from
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.
adjective more literate · most literate · litterate
-
Able to read and write; having literacy.
Intelligence tests are biased toward the literate.
Opposite: illiterate
- Knowledgeable in literature, writing; literary; well-read. The reason literature plays a unique role in any literate culture is its longevity.
- Which is used in writing (of a language or dialect). The Mongol emperor Kublai Khan even commissioned an alphabetic script for his empire, to be used officially for all its literate languages, Mongolian, Chinese, Turkic and Persian.
- Able to understand and evaluate something. I don’t have a college degree. I was never a standout student. And yet, I became financially literate—not just in my personal life, but in running a small company.
noun literates · litterate
- A person who is able to read and write.
- A person who was educated but had not taken a university degree; especially a candidate to take holy orders.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: literary, belletristic, lettered, educated, literate person, well-written, literacy, write, culture, knowledge, well-read, well-educated, cultivated, cultured, illiterate, cultivation
Translations
Every language
adj able to read, having literacy
| Español | alfabetizado, letrado, alfabeto |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 読み書きができる yomikaki ga dekiru |
| 中文 | 識字的 /识字的 shìzì de |
| हिन्दी | साक्षर sākṣar, शिक्षित śikṣit, पढ़ा लिखा paṛhā likhā |
| Português | letrado, alfabetizado |
| Français | alphabète, lettré |
| Deutsch | schriftkundig, schreibkundig, lese- und schreibkundig, des Lesens und Schreibens mächtig, alphabetisiert, literal |
| Русский | гра́мотный grámotnyj |
adj knowledgeable in literature and writing
| Español | letrado |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 博識の hakushiki no |
| 中文 | 有文化的 yǒu wénhuà de, 博識 /博识 bóshì |
| हिन्दी | शिक्षित śikṣit |
| Português | letrado |
| Français | lettré |
| Deutsch | belesen, gebildet |
| Русский | образо́ванный obrazóvannyj, начи́танный načítannyj |
noun one who can read
| Español | alfabetizado, alfabeto, persona letrada |
|---|
Talk about this word "literate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/literate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. literate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/literate "literate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/literate.Cite this
@misc{literate_2026,
title = {literate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/literate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
