functional illiteracy

Definition of functional illiteracynext

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for functional illiteracy
Noun
  • Their parents sign their names with trembling hands that carry the invisible weight of illiteracy.
    Joyeeta Banerjee, NPR, 1 Mar. 2026
  • The correlation between illiteracy and incarceration has been known for a long time.
    David Owen, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • Reverend Jackson's instincts understood the words of James Baldwin, who said that ignorance and power alive is the most ferocious enemy of justice.
    Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Good luck living in your little bubble of ignorance, Nancy.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 5 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Unlike its sibling concepts of dumbness and idiocy, stupidity isn’t really a personality trait.
    Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Compare that to punk rock, which used dumbness as a tactic.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Unlike its sibling concepts of dumbness and idiocy, stupidity isn’t really a personality trait.
    Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Harry and Finis refused to play Jack Donahoe’s game of commenting on every idiocy that came across their desks.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Functional illiteracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functional%20illiteracy. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.

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