instruct
Americanverb (used with object)
-
instructs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
instructed,
past participle, past
-
instructing
present participle
-
to furnish with knowledge, especially by a systematic method; teach; train; educate.
- Synonyms:
- school, indoctrinate, discipline, drill, coach, tutor
-
to furnish with orders or directions; direct; order; command.
The doctor instructed me to diet.
- Synonyms:
- prescribe
-
to furnish with information; inform; apprise.
- Synonyms:
- enlighten
-
Law. (of a judge) to guide (a jury) by outlining the legal principles involved in the case under consideration.
verb
-
to direct to do something; order
-
to teach (someone) how to do (something)
-
to furnish with information; apprise
-
law
-
(esp of a client to his solicitor or a solicitor to a barrister) to give relevant facts or information to
-
to authorize (a barrister or solicitor) to conduct a case on a person's behalf
to instruct counsel
-
Synonym Usage
See teach.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
instructednessnoun
-
misinstructverb (used with object)
-
overinstructverb (used with object)
-
preinstructverb (used with object)
-
reinstructverb (used with object)
-
instructibleadjective
-
quasi-instructedadjective
-
self-instructedadjective
-
self-instructingadjective
-
uninstructibleadjective
-
uninstructingadjective
-
well-instructedadjective
-
instructedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
instructsimple
-
instructssimple
-
have instructedperfect
-
has instructedperfect
-
am instructingprogressive
-
are instructingprogressive
-
is instructingprogressive
-
have been instructingperfect progressive
-
has been instructingperfect progressive
Past
-
instructedsimple
-
had instructedperfect
-
was instructingprogressive
-
were instructingprogressive
-
had been instructingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of instruct
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin instructus, past participle of instruere “to equip, train, set in order,” equivalent to in- “in” + struc- (variant stem of struere “to put together”) + -tus past participle suffix; see in- 2
Explanation
This website is designed to instruct visitors about the meaning of words and their correct usage. To instruct is to give instructions, to teach. Teachers are often called instructors because their job is to instruct, to give knowledge or instructions. The subtle difference between "teach" and instruct is that you can teach almost anything: concepts, ideas, theories or, say, history. When you instruct someone, you're giving them a set of tools or tasks to do something specific. That's why furniture, toys, and model rocket kits come with instructions: they instruct you how to assemble them.
Vocabulary lists containing instruct
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Words to Know and Academic Words, Unit 5
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Anthropic did so chiefly by training Claude to assume that it had personhood and trying to instruct it to use its capabilities ethically.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
He explained that when there is a system failure, a 24-hour control centre in Madrid takes over, but it had made an "inexplicable" decision to instruct the trains to move again, without any speed restrictions.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
For example, when a doctor wants you to stop taking a medication, they’ll often instruct you to “hold” it, as a synonym for a temporary pause or delay—like asking someone to hold the elevator.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
A Board of Regents commission recommended this change in 2023, and on Monday the Regents voted to instruct the state Education Department to move ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Design an appropriate program which models the supermarket situation with its various constraints and instruct the computer to run through the program a few million times to see how often different outcomes result.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Following a consultation, new guidance instructs courts to be rigorous in refusing to deal with cases that do not meet the criteria of urgency.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
The mailer, in English and Spanish, instructs those who got two ballots to “securely destroy the duplicate ballot” instead of returning it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
The commentary in particular also instructs judges when they can enhance or decrease a sentence based on the facts of the case.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2026
OpenAI instructs employees to avoid wearing company logos outside the office and warns them of espionage risks like honeypots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
“When you do,” Caesar instructs, “put your hands inside the loop and hold the horn. It might save you.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Participants were instructed to eat their peanuts in the morning or afternoon, but they could choose how to incorporate them into their daily routine.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
There are also suggestions Timms could propose a new PIP eligibility test to reduce access, external, although he was not specifically instructed to find savings.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
“They told us it was our fault, but it’s not our fault when the official people of Binational Half Marathon instructed us to park there.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Amid the interruptions, the chair briefly suspended the session and instructed both countries' representatives to return to their places.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
The Gran instructed the Uncle as he rubbed something on Valley’s burned palms.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
By the end, she was instructing Tokyo to “go wee-wees” on Poehler’s table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Boeing will also send a bulletin to airlines detailing the issue and instructing employees how to recognize and respond to the situation should it take place.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
He signed an executive order instructing US government departments and agencies to start using the terms "SI" and "Super Intelligence" and they should no longer acknowledge the use of the term AI.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
That changed last year, attorneys said in the motion, citing an email from ICE headquarters in late May 2025 instructing field offices to begin arresting “collaterals,” or nontargets, en masse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
I was always instructing her not to tell on me if I did something bad, and she never did.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
