illiterates
Those lacking literacy
Illiterates are people who cannot read or write.
The term extends to those lacking basic knowledge in a specific field: computer illiterates, financial illiterates.
The word often carries condescension, implying not just lack of skill but deficiency of mind—though illiteracy usually reflects circumstance rather than intelligence.
Lacking formal instruction
- unschooledLacking formal instruction
- nonreadersPeople who don't peruse text
- dropoutsPeople who leave early
- adult learnersOlder people pursuing education
remedial · tutoring · reading difficulties · phonics · decoding · comprehension · undereducated · schooling
Pushed to society's edges
- disadvantagedLacking social or economic resources
- povertySevere lack of resources
- unemploymentBeing without paid work
- exploitationSelfish use of others
vulnerable · disenfranchised · voiceless · underclass · discrimination · barriers · exclusion · opportunity gap
Culture passed by speech
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- memoryMind's retention capacity
- griotsHereditary oral historians
- eldersSenior community members
folklore · songs · proverbs · recitation · listening · verbal · nonwritten · pictographs
Varieties or documents
- documentsFormal written records
- contractsEnforceable written agreements
- instructionsGuidance on how to proceed
- labelsIdentifying markers attached to items
signs · medications · bureaucracy · navigation · banking · transportation · workplace · job applications
uneducated
Lacking formal instruction
- unschooledLacking formal instruction
- nonreadersPeople who don't peruse text
- dropoutsPeople who leave early
adult learners · remedial · tutoring · reading difficulties · phonics · decoding · comprehension · undereducated · schooling · instruction
marginalized
Pushed to society's edges
- disadvantagedLacking social or economic resources
- povertySevere lack of resources
- unemploymentBeing without paid work
exploitation · vulnerable · disenfranchised · voiceless · underclass · discrimination · barriers · exclusion · opportunity gap · cycle
oral tradition
Culture passed by speech
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- memoryMind's retention capacity
- griotsHereditary oral historians
elders · folklore · songs · proverbs · recitation · listening · verbal · nonwritten · pictographs · symbols
forms
Varieties or documents
- documentsFormal written records
- contractsEnforceable written agreements
- instructionsGuidance on how to proceed
labels · signs · medications · bureaucracy · navigation · banking · transportation · workplace · job applications · digital divide
illiteratesliterates
People who can read
readers · writers · bookworms · speed readers · scribes
illiteratesscholars
Experts in a field
academics · intellectuals · literati · savants · erudites
illiteratesintelligentsia
Educated, intellectual class
literati · cognoscenti · bibliophiles · sophisticates · highbrows