Didactic
adjective /daɪˈdæk.tɪk/ — Intended to teach or instructively moralistic
Definition
Intended to instruct or teach — often used critically to describe work that is excessively preoccupied with instruction at the expense of art or entertainment.
Beyond the definition
The tension between teaching and showing. Didactic writing tells you what to think. Great writing makes you think.
Origin & history
From Greek 'didaktikos' (apt at teaching) — from 'didaskein' (to teach). The quality of intending to instruct.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The novel had a didactic quality that some readers found comforting and others found condescending.
Good satire is never merely didactic — it shows more than it tells.
There is a difference between didactic and instructive: one lectures, the other demonstrates.
Synonyms
instructive, moralising, preachy, educational, pedagogical
Antonyms
entertaining, implicit, showing
Related words
Didactic vs preachy
Didactic is often used to describe literature or art that intends to instruct or enlighten. Preachy is a negative critique of someone sounding overly moralizing or self-righteous.
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Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Instructional Orderly Investigation
An adult works at a table, carefully arranging interlocking wooden pieces into a clear, orderly structure while focused on their step-by-step progress.
Didactic work is intended to instruct, often becoming overly focused on the lesson. The image captures this by emphasizing the methodical, step-by-step assembly of an ordered structure; the atmosphere of teaching or learning is clear, showing the pursuit of clarity and order that characterizes a didactic process.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration