lit·er·ate
ˈli-tə-rət 
also ˈli-trət
1
2
a
: versed in literature or creative writing : literary
literate novelists
c
: having knowledge or competence (see competent sense 2)
computer-literate
politically literate
literately
adverb
literateness
noun
1
: an educated person
2
: a person who can read and write
Synonyms
Examples of literate in a Sentence
Adjective
She is literate in both English and Spanish.
What percentage of the population is literate?
The job requires you to be computer literate.
Recent Examples on the Web
Harper's Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023
At a time when only about 1 percent of the female Indian population was literate, Mani was the exception.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 6 Oct. 2023
Yet as their ideas percolated among the literate elite, society at large remained repressive.
—TIME, 5 Oct. 2023
Also enjoyable is how literate her characters are in exploring their identities.
—Seth Colter Walls, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2023
His mother was very literate and a very good book reader.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
Photo: Courtesy of Copy Magazine AI technology is very literate.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2023
Illiterate people are estimated to earn 30-42% less than their literate counterparts, although the overall impact of illiteracy on personal income may not be universal.
—Faustine Ngila, Quartz, 4 Apr. 2023
Its natural beauty attracts a literate and engaged population, and its residents, at least from afar, seem unduly blessed with fine weather, prosperity and more than a dose of the good life.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2023
Expert Panel®, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023
The Earth Day website provides great information about how individuals, groups and organizations can become involved in large-scale projects, steps to reduce your own impact, such as buying sustainable fashion, and or simply becoming more climate literate.
—Jim Foerster, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2022
Weaver, who has led the effort to move away from a balanced literacy curriculum and toward foundational skills, cited district test scores showing just 44% of students are grade-level literate, with dramatically lower rates among certain demographic groups.
—Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 June 2022
Instead of hunting for data scientists who are the masters-of-everything that Davenport and Patil value, DosSantos says, companies should be thinking about how to build teams in which data literate analysts work alongside subject-matter experts from various business units.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2022
The move to Encinitas in 2018 seems to have helped as well, immersed in a health-conscious, Olympic-literate community (70 other athletes with San Diego ties are in Tokyo), connected with the ocean’s therapeutic vibe and California’s openminded ethos.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 July 2021
As someone who works with words for a living, I’m drawn to the literate, the quick witted and the facile conversationists.
—Eric Fuller, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2021
Being science-literate won’t protect you from such biases, Kahan says.
—Christie Aschwanden, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2015
However, despite leaders’ expectations and the real-world need for a data literate workforce, businesses are not doing their part to prepare their teams.
—Mike Capone, Forbes, 23 May 2022
See More
Adjective
In On Beauty, a working-class student from the Midwest finds herself in an art history class surrounded by upper-class, culturally literate peers from the Northeast who are involved in various political initiatives.
—Harper's Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023
At a time when only about 1 percent of the female Indian population was literate, Mani was the exception.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 6 Oct. 2023
Yet as their ideas percolated among the literate elite, society at large remained repressive.
—TIME, 5 Oct. 2023
Also enjoyable is how literate her characters are in exploring their identities.
—Seth Colter Walls, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2023
His mother was very literate and a very good book reader.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
Photo: Courtesy of Copy Magazine AI technology is very literate.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2023
Illiterate people are estimated to earn 30-42% less than their literate counterparts, although the overall impact of illiteracy on personal income may not be universal.
—Faustine Ngila, Quartz, 4 Apr. 2023
Its natural beauty attracts a literate and engaged population, and its residents, at least from afar, seem unduly blessed with fine weather, prosperity and more than a dose of the good life.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2023
Noun
Being data literate is not the same as being a data storyteller.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023
The Earth Day website provides great information about how individuals, groups and organizations can become involved in large-scale projects, steps to reduce your own impact, such as buying sustainable fashion, and or simply becoming more climate literate.
—Jim Foerster, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2022
Weaver, who has led the effort to move away from a balanced literacy curriculum and toward foundational skills, cited district test scores showing just 44% of students are grade-level literate, with dramatically lower rates among certain demographic groups.
—Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 June 2022
Instead of hunting for data scientists who are the masters-of-everything that Davenport and Patil value, DosSantos says, companies should be thinking about how to build teams in which data literate analysts work alongside subject-matter experts from various business units.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2022
The move to Encinitas in 2018 seems to have helped as well, immersed in a health-conscious, Olympic-literate community (70 other athletes with San Diego ties are in Tokyo), connected with the ocean’s therapeutic vibe and California’s openminded ethos.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 July 2021
As someone who works with words for a living, I’m drawn to the literate, the quick witted and the facile conversationists.
—Eric Fuller, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2021
Being science-literate won’t protect you from such biases, Kahan says.
—Christie Aschwanden, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2015
However, despite leaders’ expectations and the real-world need for a data literate workforce, businesses are not doing their part to prepare their teams.
—Mike Capone, Forbes, 23 May 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'literate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Noun
Middle English literat, from Latin litteratus marked with letters, literate, from litterae letters, literature, from plural of littera
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of literate was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near literate
Cite this Entry
“Literate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literate. Accessed 26 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
literate
1 of 2 adjective
lit·er·ate
ˈlit-ə-rət
ˈli-trət
1
2
: able to read and write
3
: having knowledge or experience in a particular area
computer literate
literately
adverb
literateness
noun
literate
2 of 2 noun1
: an educated person
2
: a person who can read and write
More from Merriam-Webster on literate
Nglish: Translation of literate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of literate for Arabic Speakers
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