didactic

adjective

di·dac·tic | \ dī-ˈdak-tik

, də-\

Definition of didactic

1a : designed or intended to teach

b : intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment didactic poetry

2 : making moral observations

Other Words from didactic Synonyms We Will Teach You the Origin of Didactic Example Sentences Learn More about didactic

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Other Words from didactic

didactical \ dī-ˈdak-ti-kəl

\ adjective

didactically \ dī-ˈdak-ti-k(ə-)lē

\ adverb

didacticism \ dī-ˈdak-tə-ˌsi-zəm

\ noun

We Will Teach You the Origin of Didactic

Didaktikos is a Greek word that means "apt at teaching." It comes from didaskein, meaning "to teach." Something "didactic" does just that: teaches or instructs. "Didactic" conveyed that neutral meaning when it was first borrowed in the 17th century, and still does; a didactic piece of writing is one that is meant to be instructive as well as artistic. Parables are generally didactic because they aim to teach a moral lesson. "Didactic" now sometimes has negative connotations, too, however. Something "didactic" is often overburdened with instruction to the point of being dull. Or it might be pompously instructive or moralistic.

Examples of didactic in a Sentence

Slaves related human as well as animal trickster tales; they told Bible stories, explanatory tales, moralistic and didactic tales, supernatural tales and legends. — Lawrence W. Levine, The Unpredictable Past, 1993 For two decades, many Americans, including some early advocates of the Vietnam intervention, have been relentlessly didactic, extracting cautionary lessons from Vietnam. — George F. Will, Newsweek, 22 May 1989 —the trappings, one might say—of a didactic and resolutely pious Victorian sensibility in the service of an anarchic imagination. — Joyce Carol Oates, The Profane Art, 1983 the poet's works became increasingly didactic after his religious conversion

Recent Examples on the Web

But Gavin Hood’s earnest whistleblower drama does a stirring if occasionally didactic job of reminding us why speaking truth to power, even at the highest personal cost, still matters. — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, "Keira Knightley brings urgency to whistleblower drama Official Secrets," 29 Aug. 2019 But reading her stump speech as a purely didactic performance to carry her issues across to a mass public glosses over a key aspect of her political persona. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "Arguing the World," 15 Aug. 2019 But Ms Dewey-Hagborg is not didactic, showing the positive, weird and beautiful possibilities of new technologies as well as their dangers. — S.h. | New York, The Economist, "Heather Dewey-Hagborg mixes biotechnology and art," 15 July 2019 Much like his compatriot Marcelo Bielsa, his press conferences tend to be long and didactic lessons but never with the intent to patronize. — Luis Miguel Echegaray, SI.com, "Brazil Already Thrashed Peru Once; Will Copa America Final Be Any Different?," 5 July 2019 Nevertheless, the play’s didactic challenge and call to action remain deadly serious. — Philip Brandes, Los Angeles Times, "Review: It’s rich versus poor in Antaeus Theatre’s ‘Caucasian Chalk Circle’," 20 July 2019 Almost none of the objects has its own didactic wall label. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, "Dijon’s Masterpiece of a Museum, Brilliantly Renovated," 20 July 2019 The banter between Zazu and Mufasa gets new color Zazu, the hornbill voiced by John Oliver, has always had the attitude of a didactic political adviser. — Raisa Bruner, Time, "Here's How the New Lion King Is Different From the Original," 17 July 2019 The screenplay also feels didactic, saddling even the better actors in the cast with dialogue that doesn’t feel natural. — Kimber Myers, latimes.com, "Review: ‘Ask for Jane’ depicts the horrors of abortion in a pre-Roe vs. Wade America," 26 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'didactic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for didactic

borrowed from New Latin didacticus, borrowed from Greek didaktikós "apt at teaching," from didaktós "taught, learned" (verbal adjective of didáskein, aorist edídaxa "to teach, instruct," factitive derivative of daênai "to learn") + -ikos -ic entry 1; daênai going back to Indo-European *dens-, *dn̥s- "become knowledgeable or skillful," whence also Avestan dīdaiŋ́hē "(I) learn, experience" and, in nominal derivatives, Sanskrit dáṃsaḥ "marvelous power," dasráḥ "accomplishing wonderful deeds," and perhaps Greek dḗnea "plans, intentions"

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More Definitions for didactic

didactic

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of didactic

formal

: designed or intended to teach people something

usually disapproving —used to describe someone or something that tries to teach something (such as proper or moral behavior) in a way that is annoying or unwanted

See the full definition for didactic in the English Language Learners Dictionary

didactic

adjective

di·dac·tic | \ dī-ˈdak-tik, də-

Medical Definition of didactic

: involving lecture and textbook instruction rather than demonstration and laboratory study

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didactic

Definition of didactic

Other Words from didactic

Synonyms for didactic

We Will Teach You the Origin of Didactic

Examples of didactic in a Sentence

First Known Use of didactic

History and Etymology for didactic

English Language Learners Definition of didactic

Medical Definition of didactic

didactic

Definition of didactic

Other Words from didactic

Synonyms for didactic

We Will Teach You the Origin of Didactic

Examples of didactic in a Sentence

First Known Use of didactic

History and Etymology for didactic

English Language Learners Definition of didactic

Medical Definition of didactic

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