unlettered
adjective
un·let·tered ˌən-ˈle-tərd 
1
a
: lacking facility in reading and writing and ignorant of the knowledge to be gained from books
b
: illiterate
2
: not marked with letters
Synonyms
- analphabetic
- benighted
- dark
- ignorant
- illiterate
- nonliterate
- rude
- simple
- uneducated
- uninstructed
- unlearned
- unread
- unschooled
- untaught
- untutored
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
unlettered moviegoers could scarcely imagine how little resemblance the film bore to the novel on which it was supposedly based
Recent Examples on the Web 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 His description of Stephen Miller, a White House policy adviser, as an unlettered lightweight is inaccurate and mean. The Economist, 11 Jan. 2018 See More
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 His description of Stephen Miller, a White House policy adviser, as an unlettered lightweight is inaccurate and mean. The Economist, 11 Jan. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
unlettered
adjective
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 Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- ignorant
- illiterate
- uneducated
- unschooled
- untutored
- inexperienced
- uninstructed
- benighted
- untaught
- nonliterate
- unlearned
- dark
- unread
- simple
- innocent
- rude
- semiliterate
- naive
- uncultured
- analphabetic
- artless
- callow
- innumerate
- foolish
- unknowledgeable
- philistine
- unsophisticated
- unskilled
- lowbrow
- untrained
- uncultivated
- functionally illiterate
- stupid
- imbecile
- green
- witless
- dumb
- brainless
- idiotic
- moronic
- imbecilic
- naïve
- silly
- raw
- senseless
- idiotical
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- literate
- educated
- lettered
- intelligent
- schooled
- knowledgeable
- brilliant
- scholarly
- trained
- experienced
- smart
- erudite
- expert
- well-read
- cultured
- intellectual
- learned
- well-informed
- aware
- highbrow
- cultivated
- acquainted
- sophisticated
- familiar
- polymath
- polymathic
- polyhistoric
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of unlettered are ignorant, illiterate, unlearned, and untutored. While all these words mean "not having knowledge," unlettered implies ignorance of the knowledge gained by reading.
an allusion meaningless to the unlettered
Although the words ignorant and unlettered have much in common, ignorant may imply a general condition or it may apply to lack of knowledge or awareness of a particular thing.
an ignorant fool
ignorant of nuclear physics
While in some cases nearly identical to unlettered, illiterate applies to either an absolute or a relative inability to read and write.
much of the population is still illiterate
The words unlearned and unlettered can be used in similar contexts, but unlearned suggests ignorance of advanced subjects.
poetry not for academics but for the unlearned masses
The meanings of untutored and unlettered largely overlap; however, untutored may imply lack of schooling in the arts and ways of civilization.
strange monuments built by an untutored people
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