noun, plural il·lit·er·a·cies for 3.
- a lack of ability to read and write.
- the state of being illiterate; lack of any or enough education.
- a mistake in writing or speaking, felt to be characteristic of an illiterate or semiliterate person: a letter that was full of illiteracies.
1650s, from illiterate + -cy. Earlier in this sense was illiterature (1590s).