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analphabetic

American  
[an-al-fuh-bet-ik, an-al-] / ˌæn æl fəˈbɛt ɪk, ænˌæl- /

adjective

  1. not alphabetic.

    an analphabetic arrangement of letters.

  2. unable to read or write; illiterate.

    analphabetic peoples.

  3. Phonetics. of or constituting a system of phonetic transcription, as the one devised by Otto Jespersen, that for each sound indicates by separate sets of symbols the articulator, the point of articulation, and the size and shape of the mouth opening.

noun

  1. an illiterate person; analphabet.

analphabetic British  
/ ænˌæl-, ˌænælfəˈbɛtɪk /

adjective

  1. not in alphabetical order

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a less common word for illiterate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • analphabetically adverb

Etymology

Origin of analphabetic

1660–70; < Greek analphábēt ( os ) not knowing the alphabet ( an- an- 1 + alphábēt ( os ) alphabet + -os adj. suffix) + -ic

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.