Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

Discuss
Email this
Feedback
RSS/XML
Permalink

A.Word.A.Day--aliterate

This week's theme: adjectives.

aliterate (ay-LIT-uhr-it) noun, adjective

One who is capable of reading but not interested in it.

[From Latin a- (not or without) + litteratus (learned), from littera (letter).]

See more usage examples of aliterate in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

Aliterates stand somewhere between literates and illiterates. They can read but don't want to. Whether they can alliterate, we're not sure.

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"The avowed aliterate has relinquished an activity that is uniquely human. (Apes can watch TV)."
Linton Weeks; Essay; The Washington Post; Jul 14, 1996.

X-Bonus