didactic

[ dahy-dak-tik ]

adjective

1. intended for instruction; instructive:

   didactic poetry.

2. inclined to teach or lecture others too much:

   a boring, didactic speaker.

   Synonyms: pedagogical, donnish, preachy, pedantic

3. teaching or intending to teach a moral lesson.
4. didactics, (used with a singular verb) the art or science of teaching.

didactic

/ dɪˈdæktɪk /

adjective

1. intended to instruct, esp excessively
2. morally instructive; improving
3. (of works of art or literature) containing a political or moral message to which aesthetic considerations are subordinated

Derived Forms

• diˈdacticism, noun
• diˈdactically, adverb

Other Words From

• di·dacti·cal·ly adverb
• di·dacti·cism noun
• nondi·dactic adjective
• nondi·dacti·cal·ly adverb
• undi·dactic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of didactic¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from Greek didaktikós “apt at teaching, instructive,” from didakt(ós) “that may be taught, teachable” (from didáskein “to teach”) + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of didactic¹

C17: from Greek didaktikos skilled in teaching, from didaskein to teach

Example Sentences

Kapadia sees “All We Imagine as Light” as a political statement, too, though it avoids being didactic.

From Los Angeles Times

But they also found that teachers spent 59% of their classroom time on “didactic instruction,” which means imparting information and instructions to students rather than encouraging independent thinking and play.

From Los Angeles Times

While we can and should learn from one another, our every interaction need not be so intensely didactic.

From New York Times

Try as he may, he can't fully mask some of the didactic "we're going to teach you something" nature of the dialogue, even if what it's conveying is historical information that most people don't know.

From Salon

I could be didactic with you — sure, quit your job, marry your partner, move to the burbs — and that may feel like a prognostication of sorts.

From Los Angeles Times