aliterate person
- noun
- /ˌeɪlɪˈtɜrɪt ˈpɜrsən/
- Despite having access to books, Tom became an aliterate person who rarely read anything beyond social media.
Examples
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An aliterate person often misses out on valuable knowledge.
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An aliterate person may choose to watch television instead of reading books.
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An aliterate person may have the skill to read but lacks the motivation to do so regularly.
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Many educators are concerned about the increasing number of aliterate persons in today's society.
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Being an aliterate person can limit one's career opportunities.
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Some believe that becoming an aliterate person is a significant loss in modern education.
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An aliterate person often prefers online articles over traditional literature.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A person who can read but chooses not to read books for pleasure
How Willing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'aliterate' (able to read but prefers not to) + 'person' yields 'a person who can read but chooses not to.' This is fully compositional and follows normal English adjective-noun patterns, so a learner who knows both constituents can immediately derive the meaning despite the relative rarity of 'aliterate'.
Etymology
Aliterate person comes from the small a- meaning 'not' added to literate ('able to read'), so it gives a picture of someone who can read but often leaves books closed. That's why aliterate person means a person who is able to read but chooses not to read.