semiliterate

American  

[sem-ee-lit-er-it, sem-ahy-] / ˌsɛm iˈlɪt ər ɪt, ˌsɛm aɪ- /

adjective

1. barely able to read and write.

2. capable of reading but not writing.

3. literate but poorly skilled or informed; lacking the proficiency of a literate person.

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noun

1. a person who is semiliterate.

semiliterate British  

/ ˌsɛmɪˈlɪtərɪt /

adjective

1. hardly able to read or write

2. able to read but not to write

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Other Word Forms

• semiliteracy noun

Etymology

Origin of semiliterate

First recorded in 1925–30; semi- + literate

Example Sentences

"But sometimes we want to make laws even clearer so that even semiliterate psychopaths have a chance at understanding them."

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2022

I found some evidence that in the ’70s and ’80s, the agreed-upon definition of semiliterate was an eighth-grade reading level and below.

From Slate • Jan. 26, 2018

This transformed a nation of semiliterate farmers into the world’s most-educated country.

From New York Times • Sep. 8, 2015

It’s that some children in the United States grow up semiliterate.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 25, 2014

I’d heard him called “the Perfessor” by various semiliterate wags about town in tones that might have been termed faintly derisive.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly