didactic

American  

[dahy-dak-tik] / daɪˈdæk tɪk /

Also didactical

adjective

1. intended for instruction; instructive.

   didactic poetry.

2. inclined to teach or lecture others too much.

   a boring, didactic speaker.

   Synonyms:

   pedagogical, donnish, preachy, pedantic

3. teaching or intending to teach a moral lesson.

4. (used with a singular verb) didactics, the art or science of teaching.

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didactic British  

/ dɪˈdæktɪk /

adjective

1. intended to instruct, esp excessively

2. morally instructive; improving

3. (of works of art or literature) containing a political or moral message to which aesthetic considerations are subordinated

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Other Word Forms

• didactically adverb
• didacticism noun
• nondidactic adjective
• nondidactically adverb
• undidactic adjective

Etymology

Origin of didactic

First recorded in 1635–45; from Greek didaktikós “apt at teaching, instructive,” from didakt(ós) “that may be taught, teachable” (from didáskein “to teach”) + -ikos -ic

Example Sentences

Davis’ book makes sense of all this without being overly didactic.

From Los Angeles Times

We didn’t want to write a didactic book.

From Los Angeles Times

Other somewhat more didactic or exposition-heavy passages include a professor giving a brief lecture about the persistent and pernicious British class system.

From The Wall Street Journal

The star went on to admit that during that period of time she "might have got a little didactic about it."

From BBC

It’s a shrewd aside from the larger story, but one that succinctly highlights how women must constantly be aware of their surroundings without being didactic and obvious.

From Salon