Standard Lemma guide

didactic

adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • dī-dăkˈtĭk
  • /daɪˈdæk.tɪk/
  • /dɪˈdæk.tɪk/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æktɪk
  • CMU ARPABET: D AY0 D AE1 K T IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • didactic poetry

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: educative, instructive

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Excessively moralizing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Teaching from textbooks rather than laboratory demonstration and clinical application.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A treatise on teaching or education.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

instructive (especially excessively)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: didactical

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From French didactique, from Ancient Greek διδακτικός (didaktikós, “skilled in teaching”), from διδακτός (didaktós, “taught, learnt”), from διδάσκω (didáskō, “to teach, educate”). By surface analysis, didact + -ic.

Across languages

Translations

52 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: didakties — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Armenian: խրատական (xratakan) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Azerbaijani: ibrətli — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Belarusian: дыдактычны (dydaktyčny) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Bulgarian: дидактичен (didaktičen) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Catalan: didàctic — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 教学 (jiàoxué) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Czech: didaktický — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Danish: didaktisk — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Danish: belærende — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Dutch: didactisch — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Esperanto: didaktika — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Finnish: didaktinen — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Finnish: opettavainen — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Finnish: kasvattava — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • French: didactique — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Galician: didáctico — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • German: didaktisch — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Italian: didattico — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Italian: didascalico — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Latin: didascalicum — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Macedonian: дидактичен (didaktičen) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Norwegian: didaktisk — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Persian: تعلیمی (ta'limi) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Persian: آموزشی — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Polish: dydaktyczny — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Portuguese: didático — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Russian: наста́внический (nastávničeskij) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Russian: нравоучи́тельный (nravoučítelʹnyj) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Russian: дидакти́ческий (didaktíčeskij) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Russian: назида́тельный (nazidátelʹnyj) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Serbo-Croatian: didàktičkī — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Serbo-Croatian: didaktičan — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Slovak: didaktický — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Spanish: didáctico — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Swedish: didaktisk — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Turkish: eğitici — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Turkish: eğitsel — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Turkish: didaktik — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Turkish: öğretici — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Turkish: öğretsel — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Ukrainian: дидактичний (dydaktyčnyj) — instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate
  • Danish: didaktisk — excessively moralizing
  • Danish: docerende — excessively moralizing
  • Finnish: opettavainen — excessively moralizing
  • Russian: нравоучи́тельный (nravoučítelʹnyj) — excessively moralizing
  • Russian: настави́тельный (nastavítelʹnyj) — excessively moralizing
  • Russian: ме́нторский (méntorskij) — excessively moralizing
  • Catalan: didàctic — teaching from textbooks rather than laboratory demonstration and application
  • Finnish: teoreettinen — teaching from textbooks rather than laboratory demonstration and application
  • French: livresque — teaching from textbooks rather than laboratory demonstration and application
  • Turkish: öğretici — teaching from textbooks rather than laboratory demonstration and application
Real reading context

didactic in complete knowledge articles