adjective
-
providing knowledge; instructive or informative
an educational toy
-
of or relating to education
Other Word Forms
- antieducational adjective
- antieducationally adverb
- countereducational noun
- countereducationally adverb
- educationally adverb
- noneducational adjective
- noneducationally adverb
- posteducational adjective
- preeducational adjective
- preeducationally adverb
- pseudoeducational adjective
- pseudoeducationally adverb
- quasi-educational adjective
- quasi-educationally adverb
Etymology
Origin of educational
Explanation
If something is educational, it teaches you some new information or gives you new knowledge. Listening to an organic farmer describe the process of beekeeping can be very educational. The adjective educational describes something that imparts new skills or knowledge. Reading a recipe is educational, if it teaches you how to make a perfect buttercream frosting for your cake, and a French class is also educational, as long as you learn something new from it. The word comes from the noun education, or "the process of teaching or learning," which actually meant "childrearing" in the 1500s, and was used interchangeably to mean "the training of animals."
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.
Young people aged between 10 and 18, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities up to the age of 25, will also be able to access services at the youth centres.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
Schools argue that athletics are part of their educational mission, with revenue from football and basketball funding sports that make far less money, such as swimming and gymnastics.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
Even so, 529s are meant to be limited to educational uses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
The teens are part of Make Great Plays, a grassroots organization that gives elementary school students a chance to dream, excel and believe they belong in educational echelons that once felt out of reach.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
All in all, it had been a very educational trip.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions 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.
