educe
Americanverb (used with object)
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to draw forth or bring out, as something potential or latent; elicit; develop.
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to infer or deduce.
verb
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to evolve or develop, esp from a latent or potential state
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to draw out or elicit (information, solutions, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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educesimple
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educessimple
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have educedperfect
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has educedperfect
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am educingprogressive
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are educingprogressive
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is educingprogressive
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have been educingperfect progressive
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has been educingperfect progressive
Past
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educedsimple
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had educedperfect
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was educingprogressive
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were educingprogressive
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had been educingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of educe
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ēdūcere, equivalent to ē- e- 1 + dūcere to lead
Explanation
When you educe you first see the potential in something and then develop it. An artist sketching on scratch paper might later educe a painting from the casual sketches. Educe can also be used as a synonym for deduce, meaning "to reach a conclusion." Suppose members of a jury have to decide whether someone is guilty of stealing. They use the facts in the case to educe the thief's motivation. Educe comes from the Latin word ducere, meaning "lead." Think of educe as leading to something else.
Vocabulary lists containing educe
Lead the Way: Duc and Duct
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Stories of Ourselves
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The Left Hand of Darkness
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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:
Every song in her discographical universe matters, and any surprise song she chooses will invariably educe outpourings of jubilation.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2023
Every song in her discographical universe matters, and any surprise song she chooses will invariably educe outpourings of jubilation.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2023
I think that there should’ve been more discussion of what we educe from his philosophy about these issues of privacy and personal liberty that appear discussed at length in his book.
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2017
He spreads them out, classifies them; then pores, probes, weighs, analyzes, to educe both a composite picture of the author and a meticulous evaluation of the cumulus itself.
From Time Magazine Archive
If the English had the institutions which in France seem to be but the concomitants of despotism, they would educe from them a large amount of political liberty.
From Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Henry Reeve, C.B., D.C.L. In Two Volumes. Volume II. by Laughton, John Knox
Because terrorism educes such strong emotions, it has led to at least five myths.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 19, 2013
Mr. Crowther, a skilled publicist, lengthily educes the candidate's fitness for office from his record in other offices.
From Time Magazine Archive
I cannot conclude my letter better, than by assuring my dear ——, that such is the trust and confidence we all repose in the Being, who out of evil still educes good.”
From Samboe; or, The African Boy by Hedge, Mary Ann
The Mogul is indeed an educational establishment, but unfortunately it educes the wrong set of faculties.
From The Night Side of London by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
Poor wretch, one sees what kind of meaning HE educes from Man's History, this long while past, and has got all the world to believe of it along with him.
From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 01 by Carlyle, Thomas
In 2013, the Serbian player Viktor Troicki was given an 18-month ban, which was later educed to 12 months, for declining a blood test at a tournament.
From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2018
He educed a knowing chuckle from the inscrutable Mona Lisa, and screwed up his rubbery face with Chaplinesque glee as Baby Doll rolled out of her famed crib.
From Time Magazine Archive
I recalled what I could of how I had been educed, at age twelve.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
And it was the emotion educed from this conversation that revealed to me how these women had abandoned their life in America without regret.
From Captain Macedoine's Daughter by McFee, William
It was one of the many great ideas he imported into, or educed from, the old Persian Astronomer.
From Tennyson and His Friends by Various
As a straight actor, he has the uncanny knack of educing raw emotions from himself and his audience.
From Time Magazine Archive
How else could He have wrought the miracle of educing good from evil?
From Conversion of a High Priest into a Christian Worker by Golden, M. (Meletios)
Watch ye, and behold the magnificent courage which in every land of strife is purging families from the dross of indolence and indifference, and educing the gold of chivalry and sacrifice.
From The Whole Armour of God by Jowett, John Henry
The hammer fell on an empty chamber, rose and fell half a dozen times without educing any response other than the click of metal against metal: demonstrating beyond question that the revolver was unloaded.
From The Day of Days An Extravaganza by Brown, Arthur William
Natural selection holds that no such change can take place without the influence of altered external circumstances educing or eliciting such change.
From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 15 — Science by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir
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.
