autodidactic

American  

[aw-toh-dahy-dak-tik] / ˌɔ toʊ daɪˈdæk tɪk /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• autodidactically adverb

Etymology

Origin of autodidactic

autodidact ( def. ) + -ic

Explanation

If you teach yourself calculus and how to speak Hindi, you are autodidactic, or someone who is self-taught. Use the adjective autodidactic to describe a person who learns things on her own, from books or videos or by practicing skills, rather than in a traditional school setting. Someone who is autodidactic — an autodidact — isn't necessarily opposed to taking a class or consulting an expert, but tends to prefer learning in a self-directed way. The Greek root word is autodidaktikos, which means "self-taught."

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.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2024

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

From New York Times • Dec. 14, 2021

On the advice of a castmate, Mr. Connery began an autodidactic education to improve his acting.

From Washington Post • Oct. 31, 2020

When it is, he’s designed a sake-inclination flow chart for some autodidactic adventuring, about which he said one evening, “I can’t help it — I’m a nerd.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 10, 2019

The mother began our culture in that epoch in which, like the man, she was autodidactic.

From The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-Day by Chamberlain, Alexander F.