adjective
didactic
dy-DAK-tik/daɪˈdæktɪk/
Intended to teach, often a moral lesson.
The instructor's didactic demonstration shows each step in tying a knot.
Etymology
The teaching root underlies a Greek adjective meaning “apt at teaching.” English shifts the emphasis to an instructional purpose: something didactic aims to teach, sometimes so insistently that it feels preachy.
In context
exam preparation can become quite didactic at times—“You’re here to learn this, this and this”—rather than teachers engaging with students to develop ideas and their profile.
More examples
- The fable is didactic, teaching children to tell the truth.
- Her didactic poems explain scientific ideas through rhyme.
- The movie feels too didactic when every conversation becomes a lecture.
Forms
didactic
didacticism noun — A tendency to teach or moralize.
Similar words
- instructive
- Provides useful knowledge, whether or not teaching is intended.
- educational
- Supports learning broadly, without suggesting a preachy tone.