didactic
/dɪˈdaktɪk
/ /dʌɪˈdaktɪk/adjective
1Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive: a didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice...
- The books written by Richardson and his followers accordingly became known as moral or didactic novels.
- This individual could provide much of the didactic instruction, but others should contribute to the training program.
- Leake used didactic approaches to teach the surveyors how to administer questionnaires and register oral responses.
Synonyms
instructive, instructional, educational, educative, informative, informational, doctrinal, preceptive, teaching, pedagogic, academic, scholastic, tuitional;
edifying, improving, enlightening, illuminating, heuristic;
pedantic, moralistic, homiletic
rare propaedeutic
1.1In the manner of a teacher, particularly so as to appear patronizing: his tone ranged from didactic to backslapping...
- But the narrative remains strange and poetic enough for it never to appear formulaic or didactic.
- You could probably even sneak in your revolutionary politics without sounding didactic and patronizing.
- Robert Coles's sketch about his fifth-grade teacher is tiresomely didactic.
Derivatives
didactically
/ /dʌɪˈdaktɪkli / adverb ...- One significant feature common to all three series is a dramatically compelling (as opposed to a didactically plodding) struggle between good and evil.
- ‘What we want to do is encourage the individual to think about their own personal circumstances rather than talking didactically to them,’ he states.
- A deliberate disavowal of any attempt to ‘lay down didactically the principles’ of prose writing provides him with an excellent basis to do exactly that.
didacticism
/ /dʌɪˈdaktɪsɪz(ə)m / noun ...- ‘If Stevens is a didactic poet,’ writes Helen Vendler, ‘it is with a diffident didacticism.’
- The ultimate strength of this play is a trio of truly heartfelt performances that bring the text alive with enviable emotional intensity and avoids the pitfalls of melodrama, didacticism, and pathos.
- We love Coupland and his company of absurdist-observationists: insight without didacticism, humoured political commentary without a political stance.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Greek didaktikos, from didaskein 'teach'.