All nonliterate synonyms

adjective nonliterate

• barbaric — If you describe someone's behaviour as barbaric, you strongly disapprove of it because you think that it is extremely cruel or uncivilized.
• crude — A crude method or measurement is not exact or detailed, but may be useful or correct in a rough, general way.
• naive — having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
• rudimentary — pertaining to rudiments or first principles; elementary: a rudimentary knowledge of geometry.
• simple — easy to understand, deal with, use, etc.: a simple matter; simple tools.
• underdeveloped — improperly or insufficiently developed.
• undeveloped — not developed.
• unsophisticated — not sophisticated; simple; artless.
• animal — An animal is a living creature such as a dog, lion, or rabbit, rather than a bird, fish, insect, or human being.
• barbarian — In former times, barbarians were people from other countries who were thought to be uncivilized and violent.
• natural — existing in or formed by nature (opposed to artificial): a natural bridge.
• raw — uncooked, as articles of food: a raw carrot.
• rough — having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth: rough, red hands; a rough road.
• savage — fierce, ferocious, or cruel; untamed: savage beasts.
• wild — living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated: a wild animal; wild geese.
• atavistic — Atavistic feelings or behaviour seem to be very primitive, like the feelings or behaviour of our earliest ancestors.
• austere — If you describe something as austere, you approve of its plain and simple appearance.
• barbarous — If you describe something as barbarous, you strongly disapprove of it because you think that it is rough and uncivilized.
• brutish — If you describe a person or their behaviour as brutish, you think that they are brutal and uncivilised.
• childlike — You describe someone as childlike when they seem like a child in their character, appearance, or behaviour.
• fierce — menacingly wild, savage, or hostile: fierce animals; a fierce look.
• ignorant — lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned: an ignorant man.
• preliterate — lacking a written language; nonliterate: a preliterate culture.
• rude — discourteous or impolite, especially in a deliberate way: a rude reply.
• uncivilized — not civilized or cultured; barbarous.
• uncultivated — prepared and used for raising crops; tilled: cultivated land.
• uncultured — the lack or absence of culture: Much modern fiction is a product of unculture.
• undomesticated — to convert (animals, plants, etc.) to domestic uses; tame.
• unlearned — not learned; not scholarly or erudite.
• unrefined — not refined; not purified, as substances: unrefined metal.
• untamed — changed from the wild or savage state; domesticated: a tame bear.
• untaught — simple past tense and past participle of unteach.
• untrained — Railroads. a self-propelled, connected group of rolling stock.
• untutored — not tutored; untaught; uninstructed.
• vestigial — of, relating to, or of the nature of a vestige: a vestigial tail.
• brutal — A brutal act or person is cruel and violent.
• ferocious — savagely fierce, as a wild beast, person, action, or aspect; violently cruel: a ferocious beating.
• harsh — ungentle and unpleasant in action or effect: harsh treatment; harsh manners.
• turbulent — being in a state of agitation or tumult; disturbed: turbulent feelings or emotions.
• vicious — addicted to or characterized by vice; grossly immoral; depraved; profligate: a vicious life.
• aboriginal — An Aboriginal is an Australian Aborigine.
• ancient — Ancient means very old, or having existed for a long time.
• brute — If you call someone, usually a man, a brute, you mean that they are rough, violent, and insensitive.
• first — being before all others with respect to time, order, rank, importance, etc., used as the ordinal number of one: the first edition; the first vice president.
• fundamental — serving as, or being an essential part of, a foundation or basis; basic; underlying: fundamental principles; the fundamental structure.
• lupine — any of numerous plants belonging to the genus Lupinus, of the legume family, as L. albus (white lupine) of Europe, bearing edible seeds, or L. perennis, of the eastern U.S., having tall, dense clusters of blue, pink, or white flowers.
• native — being the place or environment in which a person was born or a thing came into being: one's native land.
• original — belonging or pertaining to the origin or beginning of something, or to a thing at its beginning: The book still has its original binding.
• primary — first or highest in rank or importance; chief; principal: his primary goals in life.
• primitive — being the first or earliest of the kind or in existence, especially in an early age of the world: primitive forms of life.