Synonyms of literate

literate

adjective

ˈli-tə-rət 

as in educated

having or displaying advanced knowledge or education

the columnist's witty and literate comments on current events make her a popular guest on political talk shows

Synonyms & Similar Words

• educated
• scholarly
• civilized
• cultured
• skilled
• knowledgeable
• erudite
• well-read
• learned
• informed
• lettered
• instructed
• academic
• cultivated
• intellectual
• cerebral
• polished
• highbrow
• schooled
• enlightened
• didactic
• well-bred
• bookish
• trained
• professorial
• pedantic
• versed
• didactical
• briefed
• self-educated
• overeducated
• refined
• highbrowed
• self-taught
• homeschooled
• inkhorn
• polymath
• self-instructed
• polyhistoric

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• illiterate
• ignorant
• uneducated
• unlettered
• unlearned
• dark
• benighted
• uncivilized
• uncultured
• uncultivated
• unscholarly
• semiliterate
• unintellectual
• lowbrow
• uninformed
• unpolished
• unrefined
• untutored
• unschooled
• unknowledgeable
• untaught
• uninstructed
• undereducated
• ill-bred

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of literate

The high school grads the state is producing are supposed to be literate persons, but Young and Rosa have undermined that by getting rid of the tests with no replacement standards. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Sep. 2026

For more than 50 years, with a few breaks in between, Squeeze has been making memorable tunes by marrying infectious pop melodies with sophisticated and literate lyrics, often about the complexity of relationships. — Craig Rosen, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

The incomparably salty and character-rich cast of Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine swept into Venice via water taxi Thursday to introduce the Oscar winner’s latest darkly literate comedy-drama. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026

For a long time, the book’s iconic cover—a stark image evoking Trayvon Martin’s hoodie against a white backdrop—seemed to be on every other literate person’s nightstand. — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026