autodidact

noun au·to·di·dact \ ˌȯ-tō-ˈdī-ˌdakt , -dī-ˈ , -də-ˈ \

|Updated on: 21 Jul 2018

Definition of autodidact

: a self-taught person

was an autodidact who read voraciously

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autodidactic

play \-dī-ˈdak-tik, -də-\ adjective

Recent Examples of autodidact from the Web

Alejandro is a hyper-capable autodidact, a former anthropologist who enthusiastically spirals into obscure hobbies, like carving Elizabethan lutes or making portable pasteurizers for his wife to use on the family farm.

— john williams, New York Times, "Can Handiwork Save Your Soul? A Quiet Novel Suggests It Can," 10 July 2018
Among the finalists, who range in age from 23 to 77, and span autodidact, emerging, and established, Lee happens to be particularly accomplished; her work can be found in more than 40 public collections around the world.

— amy verner, Vogue, "Dame Helen Mirren Presents Scottish Ceramist Jennifer Lee With the Second Annual Loewe Craft Prize," 4 May 2018
The second is Grace Hopper, an autodidact, teacher, and Navy rear admiral, among many other things.

— anna wiener, The New Republic, "The Internet Women Made," 1 May 2018
Graham Hancock is an audacious autodidact who believes that long before ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Egypt there existed an even more glorious civilization.

— michael shermer, Scientific American, "No, There Wasn't an Advanced Civilization 12,000 Years Ago," 1 June 2017
Hoffer was a longshoreman and an autodidact who wrote slender books hefty with wisdom.

— george will, National Review, "Survival of the Shrillest," 20 Dec. 2017
A gorgeous, smart, ambitious, hard-working, steely autodidact and businesswoman whose product was herself, Valtesse would be totally at home in our self-branding society.

— nancy kline, New York Times, "Paris," 3 Feb. 2017
Graham Hancock is an audacious autodidact who believes that long before ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Egypt there existed an even more glorious civilization.

— michael shermer, Scientific American, "No, There Wasn't an Advanced Civilization 12,000 Years Ago," 22 May 2017
Upon being elected mayor in 2006, Bogdán, who completed only three years of formal schooling but is a restless autodidact, set about helping villagers understand the power of that dictum.

— tibor krausz, The Christian Science Monitor, "He’s led a transformation among Roma villagers: crime down, productivity up," 18 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'autodidact.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.