didactic
adjective
Richard C. LeineckerRobert B. HeilmanKirkus ReviewsPaul Lewis
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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.
Synonyms
Examples of didactic in a Sentence
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
Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 23 Oct. 2024
In fact, an attempt to do that would just be didactic.
—Jen Chaney, Vulture, 1 July 2024
While The Black Utopians is prolific and carries much historical weight, Robertson engages with serious and important themes without being didactic or heavy-hearted.
—Lynnette Nicholas, Essence, 18 Oct. 2024
Oppenheimer and her creative team (which includes executive producer Emma Roberts) offer up these themes in a way that’s not didactic, but is excessively watchable.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for didactic 
Dictionary Entries Near didactic
Cite this Entry
“Didactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/didactic. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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didactic
adjective
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didactic
adjective
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