subliterate

[ suhb-lit-er-it ]

adjective

1. less than fully literate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of subliterate¹

First recorded in 1945–50; sub- + literate

Example Sentences

His characterization and speech share a lot with Owens’ depictions in earlier books of some African people as wide-eyed and subliterate.

From Los Angeles Times

Bulawayo even delights in satirizing a certain U.S. president, represented here as a tweeting primate prone to subliterate warnings of electoral malfeasance.

From Washington Post

Back in the benighted 20th century comic books were seen as subliterate trash for kiddies and intellectually challenged adults – badly written, hastily drawn and execrably printed.

From The Guardian

Perhaps the emotional quotient was juvenile, but the reading level was above subliterate.

From Slate

To test that the words he was reading are above the subliterate level, I ran a few of his remarks through the Flesh–Kincaid calculator.

From Slate