Semiliterate
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A person who is semiliterate.
"If Rita Mae Brown were an exceptional writer, I might be more willing to give an ear to her pontificating […] But even as a pulp writer, Brown will have to treat lesbians as more than a bunch of anencephalic semi-literates who will sanctify her name forevermore. We have to have the guts to say, "Keep editing, Rita Mae; paper is cheap and we expect better!""
- 1 Not entirely literate; having a limited grasp of the written language. not-comparable
"With the necessary prowess of the semiliterate, Heed had a flawless memory, and like most nonreaders, she was highly numerate."
- 1 literate but poorly informed wordnet
- 2 barely able to read and write wordnet
- 3 able to read but not to write wordnet
Example
More examples"With the necessary prowess of the semiliterate, Heed had a flawless memory, and like most nonreaders, she was highly numerate."
Etymology
From semi- + literate.
More for "semiliterate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.