illiterate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In this adaptation, Anna Bowden had been Cady’s defense attorney, and he’s no longer an illiterate rube but a successful restaurateur who was convicted of murdering his wife and unborn son.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

In her second term, she introduced a constitutional amendment to reserve 45 seats in the legislature for female MPs, and worked to educate young women - in a country where 70% of them were illiterate.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

“Without laborers,” she writes, “who were often illiterate and almost never speak for themselves in historical texts—there would have been no Mughal Empire.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Barrett, a former law professor, did not seem persuaded that this notoriously sloppy and economically illiterate document was a substitute for reality-based reasoning.

From Slate • Nov. 5, 2025

For an illiterate immigrant who came to New York years ago with nothing but $100 in his pocket and a willingness to work etched on his heart, could any words have been sweeter to say?

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times