literacy

From literate + -cy.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪtəɹəsi/, /ˈlɪtɹəsi/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪtəɹəsi/, [-ɾ(ə)ɹə-], /ˈlɪtɹəsi/

  • Audio (California); [ˈlɪɾɪɹɪsi]:

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪtɹəsi/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈlətəɹəsi/, [ˈləɾəɹəsi], /ˈlətɹəsi/
• Hyphenation: li‧ter‧a‧cy

literacy (countable and uncountable, plural literacies)

1. The ability to read and write.

   Coordinate term: reading comprehension

   • 2025 September 8, “Himachal Pradesh becomes ‘fully literate State’. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu says the literacy rate in Himachal reached 99.30%, which is higher than the national benchmark of 95% with the hill State ranking first in student-teacher ratio”, in The Hindu‎^[1]:

     Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday (September 8, 2025) declared Himachal as a “fully literate State” on the occasion of International Literary Day. […] Journey from 7% to 99.30%: The Chief Minister said Himachal Pradesh had reached this goal well before the scheduled timeframe, adding that the journey from minimal literacy rate of around 7% to full literacy had been full of challenges, yet the State had consistently moved forward with the aim of providing quality education. […] Mr. Sukhu said the literacy rate in Himachal Pradesh had reached 99.30%, which is higher than the national benchmark of 95% […] Union Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar, in a video message, congratulated Himachal Pradesh on this achievement and emphasised the importance of providing skill-based education to the newly literate.

2. (by extension) The ability to understand and evaluate something.

   computer literacy

   media literacy

   • 2023 June 9, Tory Shepherd, “Can pornography be healthy? If it follows six rules, perhaps”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Prof Alan McKee, who led the project, argues that young adults should be taught “porn literacy” to help them “read porn well” and look for healthy and ethical depictions of sex.

• illiteracy

• “literacy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “literacy”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.