unlettered

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.

At the remove of 2½ centuries, that concern seems quaint, for today the real question may be whether the country can prosper if its citizens are ignorant and unlettered.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Rendered on the page in glyph-laden phonetic spellings that are apt to confound the unlettered, these words take wing when released into sound.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 11, 2022

In this tribal village, most parents are unlettered and unable to help their young children study at home.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2021

In one indelible review, the conservative critic Hilton Kramer lamented the “spectacle of mandarin sensibilities masquerading as unlettered but lyrical stumblebums.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 3, 2020

I memorized it: ‘The praise of the unlettered by the highly educated is one of the primary themes of “elitist” literature.’

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez