numeracy means numerical skill.; Competence with mathematics and with how to apply it to practical applications; sufficient ability to think critically in a quantitative way. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
numeracy is pronounced /ˈnjuːməɹəsi/.
Why “numeracy” is a great word
NUMERACY — [Noun] The cultivated, functional skill to understand, reason with, and apply numerical concepts in daily life. From numerate, from Latin numerus ("number") + the noun-forming suffix -cy; coined in 1959 by the UK Committee on Education under Sir Geoffrey Crowther. Unlike "literacy" (which denotes facility with words) or "number sense" (which implies an innate intuition), numeracy is a deliberate, applied competence for quantifying the world. It is the quiet confidence of balancing a household budget, the trained eye that interprets a statistical graph's silent argument, and the patient hand that calibrates a recipe with precision—the sober art of navigating a reality that speaks in the cold, persuasive language of digits.
Etymology
From numerate + -cy, from Latin numerus; coined with numerate in 1959 by the UK Committee on Education, presided over by Sir Geoffrey Crowther.
noun
- Numerical skill.; Competence with mathematics and with how to apply it to practical applications; sufficient ability to think critically in a quantitative way.“John Allen Paulos and others have asked our society to consider numeracy and innumeracy in a way closer to how we view literacy and illiteracy.”
- Numerical skill.; Ability to manipulate numbers at all, even for the simplest of arithmetic, such as adding two and two.“The man lost all numeracy when he had a stroke, so he now depended on his wife for even the simplest financial matters, such as making change or paying a cashier.”