Word of the Day

: June 5, 2021

didactic

adjective dye-DAK-tik

What It Means

1 a : designed or intended to teach

b : intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment

2 : making moral observations

didactic in Context

Many of the shows on the channel are didactic, teaching children about such things as the importance of recycling, exercise, and honesty through the actions of animated characters.

"[Beverly] Cleary frowned on the moralizing, didactic themes that dominated children's literature in the first half of the 20th century. She set out not to impart wisdom but instead to portray children at play, and to capture their dialogue and the ways they sometimes venture into an adult world beyond their full comprehension." — Harrison Smith and Becky Krystal, The Tampa Bay (Florida) Times, 27 Mar. 2021

Did You Know?

Didaktikós is a Greek word that means "apt at teaching." It comes from didáskein, meaning "to teach." Something didactic does just that: it teaches or instructs. Didactic conveyed that neutral meaning when it was first borrowed in the 17th century, and still does; a didactic piece of writing is one that is meant to be instructive as well as artistic. Parables are generally didactic because they aim to teach a moral lesson. Didactic now sometimes has negative connotations, too, however. Something described as "didactic" is often overburdened with instruction to the point of being dull. Or it might be pompously instructive or moralistic.