autodidactic
- adjective
- /ˌɔːtədaɪˈdæktɪk/
- This comment may explain why nineteenth-century English novels, from Disraeli's Sybil to Gissing's The Nether World, reserve high praise for lower-class "readers" who hope to improve their social standing through autodidactic study.
Examples
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They seem to be autodidactic.
Academic text (1993) -
To the extent that the Punchman's self-correction smacks of autodidactic pedantry, it duplicates the tone Punch uses to deflect the censure of his own crimes in the play.
Academic text (1995) -
Her autodidactic approach to learning guitar allowed her to play complex pieces without formal lessons.
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Many famous scientists were autodidactic, teaching themselves through books and experiments rather than attending traditional schools.
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Being autodidactic, he mastered several languages by practicing with online resources and conversation partners.
Synonyms
A person who learns most things on their own, not at school
How Self-Taught
Surface Forms
Morphology
autodidactic = autodidact (transparent) = autodidact + ic
Standard adjective formation from the noun 'autodidact' using '-ic'; the meaning 'relating to a self-taught person' is directly derived.
Etymology
Autodidactic comes from the parts auto- 'self' and didactic 'teaching', so it literally means 'self-teaching'. That's why an autodidactic person learns on their own, without formal lessons.