as in ignorant
lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books
unlettered moviegoers could scarcely imagine how little resemblance the film bore to the novel on which it was supposedly based
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Recent Examples of unlettered
The unlettered Prince has gained in life what Hamlet achieved only in death: his own story shaped on his own terms, thanks to the intervention of a skillful Horatio.
—
Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2023
Busby Berkeley Wrongly taken as a mere ornamentalist—even worse, sometimes mistaken for a fascist—Busby Berkeley was an erotic sociobiologist, an unlettered philosopher in visual music.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022
The characters include a temperamental goat, a sweet-natured monk, an unlettered orphan boy and an intelligent young girl whose destiny is to dethrone a king.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 10 Dec. 2021
Their first point of concern is that unlettered and uninformed residents were herded into vehicles and enrolled as trial participants.
—Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, 12 Jan. 2021
The British Admiralty sent ships in search of pathways through the ice that would lead to this mythic sea, an objective scoffed at by unlettered whalers who spent their lives in waters along the edge of the sea ice and knew better.
—David James, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Aug. 2019
Her husband constantly referred to her dismissively as a simple, unlettered woman.
—Ferdinand Mount, WSJ, 1 Nov. 2018
The consequences of Kanye West’s unlettered view of America and its history are, if anything, more direct.
—Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic, 7 May 2018
In the tradition of both black and white southern folk preaching, ministers usually spoke extemporaneously to unlettered congregants, who expected the Spirit of God to impart messages of encouragement and hope.
—The Economist, 28 Mar. 2018
Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2023
Busby Berkeley Wrongly taken as a mere ornamentalist—even worse, sometimes mistaken for a fascist—Busby Berkeley was an erotic sociobiologist, an unlettered philosopher in visual music.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022
The characters include a temperamental goat, a sweet-natured monk, an unlettered orphan boy and an intelligent young girl whose destiny is to dethrone a king.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 10 Dec. 2021
Their first point of concern is that unlettered and uninformed residents were herded into vehicles and enrolled as trial participants.
—Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, 12 Jan. 2021
The British Admiralty sent ships in search of pathways through the ice that would lead to this mythic sea, an objective scoffed at by unlettered whalers who spent their lives in waters along the edge of the sea ice and knew better.
—David James, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Aug. 2019
Her husband constantly referred to her dismissively as a simple, unlettered woman.
—Ferdinand Mount, WSJ, 1 Nov. 2018
The consequences of Kanye West’s unlettered view of America and its history are, if anything, more direct.
—Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic, 7 May 2018
In the tradition of both black and white southern folk preaching, ministers usually spoke extemporaneously to unlettered congregants, who expected the Spirit of God to impart messages of encouragement and hope.
—The Economist, 28 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlettered
ignorant
Adjective
-
Residents are far from ignorant of Michigan’s law on train blockages.—
Ayah Imran,
Freep.com,
18 July 2025
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With the current events unfolding in the U.S. (as well as the ongoing struggle for People of Color), Hightower didn’t want to be ignorant of what was happening in their country.—
Laura Sirikul,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unlettered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlettered. Accessed 26 Jul. 2025.
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