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didactic

didactic

5 8.1
Meant to teach and often too moral or bossy
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈdæktɪk/
  • Literature
translation icon : didáctico
  • Teachers, in particular, wish to have the didactic aspect of the celebration underlined.
  • didactic instruction
  • didactic lecture
  • didactic purpose

But it's not didactic as in being heavy-handed.

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Examples

  • Therefore, IY TCM places a major emphasis on experiential learning rather than simply didactic instruction.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The final sentence sums up both the didactic purpose and the implicit comprehensibility of the events Eggers is describing.

    Academic text (2008)
  • And this is where the didactic element of, of the conversation comes in.

  • I like hearing your voice slide into that didactic tone when you expand on a theory.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The preface also makes clear the strong didactic and moral purpose of the book.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Foundational content is typically provided in a didactic fashion in the classroom.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The actos were short, simplistic, didactic, and very much to the point.

    Academic text (1995)
  • "Yvonne seems to take a rather didactic approach," says a well-known family therapist from Philadelphia.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Their more explicitly didactic intentions are amplified by explanatory panels dealing with conceptual issues.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The teacher's didactic approach made the complex subject much easier for students to understand.

Synonyms

preachy
vsdidactic
  • Informal
11 6.8

Giving moral advice in a boring, bossy way

focuses on teaching or instruction rather than offering tiresome moral advice
didactical
vsdidactic
  • Literature
8.0

Intended to teach, often in a way that tells people what is right or sounds bossy

is the same meaning but appears as an alternative written form

Antonyms

202 1.7

Makes watching or listening enjoyable

Does not give useful information or help someone learn

How Didactic

preachy
  • Informal
11 6.8
didactic
  • Literature
5 8.1
instructive
31 4.1
informative
94 3.5

Surface Forms

didactic positive

Etymology

The word didactic comes from the Greek root didakt meaning 'to teach', the same idea as the English word 'teach'. So didactic describes something meant to teach, and it often feels a little 'preachy' or too moral rather than just showing ideas.