semiliterate

English

Etymology

From semi- +‎ literate.

Adjective

semiliterate (not comparable)

1. Not entirely literate; having a limited grasp of the written language.
   • 2003, Toni Morrison, Love, Vintage (2016), page 75:

     With the necessary prowess of the semiliterate, Heed had a flawless memory, and like most nonreaders, she was highly numerate.

Synonyms

• subliterate

Translations

not entirely literate

• Portuguese: semiletrado m

Noun

semiliterate (plural semiliterates)

1. A person who is semiliterate.
   • 1988 December 11, Susana Darwin, “Keep Editing, Rita Mae”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 22, page 10:

     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!"

Related terms

• semiliteracy