didactic

adjective

di·​dac·​tic dī-ˈdak-tik How to pronounce didactic (audio)
də-
1
a
: designed or intended to teach
The first part of the book is more didactic, with lengthy descriptions of how the operating system actually works.Richard C. Leinecker
b
: intended to convey instruction and information in addition to serving another purpose (such as pleasure and entertainment)
didactic poetry/fiction
Taking an enlightening new approach to Johnson's Dictionary, DeMaria examines the 16,000 illustrative citations and finds that they not only serve linguistic ends but have educational and didactic purposes.Robert B. Heilman
2
usually disapproving : making moral observations : intended to teach proper or moral behavior
Never didactic, Martin gently nudges readers toward open-mindedness at the prospect of eating bugs: "Why not make the best of what we have the most of?"Kirkus Reviews
Poe was in general not a didactic writer; in fact, he criticized stories and poems that sought to inculcate virtue and convey the truth.Paul Lewis
didactical adjective
didactically adverb
didacticism noun

Did you know?

We Will Teach You the Origin of Didactic

Didaktikós is a Greek word that means "apt at teaching." It comes from didáskein, meaning "to teach." Something didactic does just that: it 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 described as "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 The decisive shift in focus feels edged with something didactic, Eliot-like. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024 But where other directors might turn to overt, didactic arguments to make their point, Miyazaki uses a more accessible, intuitive dream logic. Nina Li Coomes, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2024 With a fluidity of form and subject comparable to what Ava DuVernay achieves in Origin, Diop folds the poetic into the political, without ever becoming didactic. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2024 The movie offers a didactic universality that implicitly pushes its subjects off the screen and into discussions in the lobby and the café afterward. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2024 From voiceovers kicking off one-too-many runway shows to words on clothes, this didactic approach leaves little room for analysis. José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2023 The implication of the last is, as this didactic president well understands, the importance of winning the battle of ideas. David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024 Ironically, the less didactic, the more powerful a film can be. Holly Jones, Variety, 18 Jan. 2024 But for all its didactic digressions and the stylistic extravagance of the storytelling, the series is deeply felt and, the stature of its hero notwithstanding, life-sized. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'didactic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

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"

First Known Use

1658, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of didactic was in 1658

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Dictionary Entries Near didactic

Cite this Entry

“Didactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/didactic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

didactic

adjective
di·​dac·​tic dī-ˈdak-tik How to pronounce didactic (audio)
də-
: intended primarily to teach rather than to entertain
a didactic story with a moral lesson
didactical adjective
didactically adverb
didacticism noun

Medical Definition

didactic

adjective
di·​dac·​tic dī-ˈdak-tik, də- How to pronounce didactic (audio)
: involving lecture and textbook instruction rather than demonstration and laboratory study

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