Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Intended to instruct.
- adjective Morally instructive.
- adjective Inclined to teach or moralize excessively.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Fitted or intended for instruction; containing doctrines, precepts, principles, or rules; instructive; expository; edifying: as, a didactic treatise; didactic poetry.
- Pertaining to instruction; of an edifying quality, character, or manner; used in or given to exposition: as, a didactic style; didactic methods; a didactic lecturer.
- noun A treatise on education.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete A treatise on teaching or education.
- adjective Fitted or intended to teach; conveying instruction; preceptive; instructive; teaching some moral lesson.
- adjective Pejorative excessively prone to instruct, even those who do not wish to be instructed; -- of people.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Instructive or intended toteach ordemonstrate , especially with regard tomorality . (I.e., didacticpoetry ) - adjective Excessively
moralizing . - adjective medicine Teaching from
textbooks rather than laboratorydemonstration and clinicalapplication . - noun archaic A
treatise on teaching oreducation .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective instructive (especially excessively)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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7:12: Sends text to Brian Williams of NBC News correcting him on improper use of the term "didactic."
The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post Norman Chad 2011
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The degree to which the characters are bound to their milieu is made apparent at every turn — sometimes, in didactic bits of dialogue, almost too apparent.
International Crime Fiction Geoffrey O'Brien 2010
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In this long Latin didactic poem, the epic poet Lucretius sought to free humans from the fear of death by explaining the true nature of things.
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In this long Latin didactic poem, the epic poet Lucretius sought to free humans from the fear of death by explaining the true nature of things.
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In this long Latin didactic poem, the epic poet Lucretius sought to free humans from the fear of death by explaining the true nature of things.
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Teens are such an open audience, and the world of YA literature has evolved in the past years, so the age of thinking about teen novels as needing to be limited or didactic is definitely over.
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » AUTHOR INTERVIEW: K.L. Going, part 1 2008
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I have no interest in didactic book, whatever its viewpoint.
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I don't know if you're at all interested in American didactic fiction.
Myths of reading 2008
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His work, though far from didactic, is full of moral implications; his example of aesthetic idealism, set by abnegation and artistry is a standing rebuke to facility and venality, callousness and obtuseness.
James Joyce 1946
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To say this, is not, of course, to say that the Greek conception of art was didactic; for the word didactic, when applied to art, has usually the implication that the excellence of the moral is the only point to be considered, and that if that is good the work itself must be good.
mainframeguy commented on the word didactic
My blog has definitions in audio, text, and even Video for this word (with cross link to the new Wordia site, which may be of interest to Wordies no doubt).
October 19, 2008
garyth123 commented on the word didactic
Re Wordia -- I don't get it;)
January 5, 2009
mohitanand commented on the word didactic
instructive (especially excessively)
Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a didactic novel, instructing the reader on how to live a good life.
October 12, 2016