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Glite Dictionary
aliterate

aliterate

1 9.9
A person who can read but chooses not to read books for pleasure
  • noun
  • /ˌeɪləˈrɪt/
: aliterado
  • Many students become aliterate after high school, choosing not to read despite their ability to do so.

Examples

  • Books may not appeal to everyone; some people are simply aliterate, opting for movies or video games instead.

  • An aliterate person often misses out on the joy of reading just because they prefer other forms of entertainment.

  • The transmedia elements of the story engage the aliterate by capturing their attention with something that is different, something that is dynamic.

    Academic text (2014)

Synonyms

aliterate person
vsaliterate
9.0

A person who can read but chooses not to read

focuses on avoiding books and other literary works rather than all writing

Antonyms

avid book-reader
1 3.2

A person who reads many books for pleasure

Compounds

aliterate person
9.0

A person who can read but chooses not to read

Surface Forms

aliterate singular
aliterates plural

Morphology

aliterate = literate (opaque) = a + literate

Although formally 'a-' + 'literate', the attested sense 'able to read but chooses not to read' does not match the expected negative reading ('not literate'), so learners cannot reliably infer the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

The word aliterate is made from a- 'not' and literate, which comes from littera 'letter' and is the same idea as the word letter. So an aliterate is someone who can read but 'chooses not to read'.