autodidacticism

American

[aw-toh-dahy-dak-tuh-siz-uhm] / ˌɔ toʊ daɪˈdæk təˌsɪz əm /

noun

the process or practice of learning a subject without a teacher or formal education; self-education.

Abraham Lincoln is viewed as a model of autodidacticism.

Etymology

Origin of autodidacticism

Example Sentences

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autodidacticism

The spirit of the catalogue—its irreverence toward institutions, its emphasis on autodidacticism, and its sunny view of computers as tools for personal liberation––appeals to a younger generation of technologists.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 16, 2018

Mr. Mac might be the smartest man in the room, but he has often felt the least-educated one, and the “24-Decade History” is, among other things, a disgorgement of his committed autodidacticism.

From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2016

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023