autodidactic

[aw-toh-dahy-dak-tik]

adjective

1. relating to or being a person who learns or has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; self-taught.

   I am self-motivated, self-sufficient, and autodidactic—all products of a childhood on an Alaskan homestead.

Other Word Forms

• autodidactically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of autodidactic¹

autodidact ( def. ) + -ic

Example Sentences

A self-assured, autodidactic singer, songwriter, producer and engineer, Tems has a rare combination of curiosity about every moving part in her music and the charisma to bring it to the world onstage.

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But the autodidactic nature of their businesses does not necessarily mean lower price points.

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His is the classic story of the driven, autodidactic collector who becomes an expert and a scholar in his own right.

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The most crackling, fateful encounter in that popcorn machine of future legend was with an enigma named Elaine May, an autodidactic rebel who arrived on campus like a dust devil.

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He seldom raised his voice — which was surprisingly patrician — and rarely cut short his autodidactic monologues.

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