educate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
educates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
educated,
past participle, past
-
educating
present participle
-
to develop the faculties and powers of (a person) by teaching, instruction, or schooling.
- Synonyms:
- indoctrinate, drill, school, instruct
-
to qualify by instruction or training for a particular calling, practice, etc.; train.
to educate someone for law.
-
to provide schooling or training for; send to school.
-
to develop or train (the ear, taste, etc.).
to educate one's palate to appreciate fine food.
-
to inform.
to educate oneself about the best course of action.
verb (used without object)
-
educates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
educated,
past participle, past
-
educating
present participle
verb
-
(also intr) to impart knowledge by formal instruction to (a pupil); teach
-
to provide schooling for (children)
I have educated my children at the best schools
-
to improve or develop (a person, judgment, taste, skills, etc)
-
to train for some particular purpose or occupation
Synonym Usage
See teach.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
educatesimple
-
educatessimple
-
have educatedperfect
-
has educatedperfect
-
am educatingprogressive
-
are educatingprogressive
-
is educatingprogressive
-
have been educatingperfect progressive
-
has been educatingperfect progressive
Past
-
educatedsimple
-
had educatedperfect
-
was educatingprogressive
-
were educatingprogressive
-
had been educatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of educate
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English educate, educatyn, from Latin ēducātus “brought up, nurtured, taught” (past participle of ēducāre ), equivalent to ē- + -duc-, variant of dūc- “to lead” + -ātus see e- 1, -ate 1
Explanation
To educate is to teach, train, or inform someone. Teachers educate students. If the word educate makes you think of children, you're not far off. It comes from the Latin word educare meaning to "bring up, rear.” In the 1500s, Shakespeare borrowed it to mean "schooling." These days, any time you're in a classroom listening to a lecture, reading a book, or speaking with a teacher, you're being educated. Teachers educate students all the way from preschool to graduate school. Almost any experience can educate if you learn from it.
Vocabulary lists containing educate
Lead the Way: Duc and Duct
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ate
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: duc, duct
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
“Unfortunately, a lot of time, it might end there for a while. We’ll follow up a couple of times, and then it’s up to them. All we can do is advise and educate them.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Moreover, when students leave public schools for private academies, the students left behind are disproportionately special needs students who cost more to educate.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
"Situations like this show how important it is to educate children about what 999 is and when to use it."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
"It's the role of the state to make that initial massive investment, to create national champions who will in turn train, educate, create value, and then enable reinvestment," Bamba said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Specific tactics included motorcades, parades, banners, billboards, transcontinental automobile trips, and speaking tours—all designed to educate the public about why women deserved the vote.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
To forestall this happening to younger women who are currently caregiving, she educates them about spousal IRAs, which allow nonworking spouses to save for retirement based on household income.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Unified, the nation’s second-largest school system, educates about 390,000 students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
It educates us in many arcane worlds of arts and crafts, quilts, chairs, pickle crocks and other items whose value really can be in the eye of the beholder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
A fellow ranger, former poacher Festus Benjamin, 31, told AFP he now educates his peers on the value of preserving the park's wildlife.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
Imagine now that instead of running a day-care center in Haifa, you are running the Chicago Public Schools, a system that educates 400,000 students each year.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Nigeria is its main recruitment ground and many of its members are university educated and inducted during their schooling.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Since the pandemic recovery, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates ages 22 to 27 has been elevated compared with the rate overall, pointing to softening demand for educated entry-level workers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Mr. Ogilvy, who was educated at Oxford and later became a chef, writes in propulsive prose that elevates this, his first book, above a simple history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Evie Roberts, a silversmith who teaches jewellery-making at the centre, said people needed to be educated about the dangers of discarding bottles or cigarettes, which can cause fires.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Indeed, many were well educated and came from a variety of ordinary backgrounds: the Gestapo, the police force, government positions, or professions such as law and banking.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Indeed, the Canvas learning management system, chosen by non-teachers and non-writers, had nothing to do with educating, reading or writing.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
She too referenced the cascading effects that the lack of classification has on educating clinicians, family knowledge and insurance coverage.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
I have been educating myself to determine whether a trust would be a good idea for our estate.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
"We are not coming from the north and educating people, but we are coming and saying... 'we do not know anything better, we have to learn from you'," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
And educating herself one book at a time.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
