educate

verb ed·u·cate \ ˈe-jə-ˌkāt \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: educate in a Sentence

Definition of educate

educated; educating

transitive verb

1 a : to provide schooling for

chose to educate their children at home

b : to train by formal instruction and supervised practice especially in a skill, trade, or profession

2 a : to develop mentally, morally, or aesthetically especially by instruction

b : to provide with information : inform

educating themselves about changes in the industry

3 : to persuade or condition to feel, believe, or act in a desired way

educate the public to support our position

intransitive verb

: to educate a person or thing

See educate defined for English-language learners

See educate defined for kids

Examples of educate in a Sentence

Parents trust schools to educate their children.
The job of our public schools is to educate.

Recent Examples of educate from the Web

In fact, Twitter has become an important resource for workers educating themselves on their industry.

— rick paulas, Longreads, "Sex Workers vs. The Internet," 15 June 2018
Some of you have educated us on cleanses, diets and holistic health care.

— julie mazziotta, PEOPLE.com, "NeNe Leakes Thanks Friends — and Rival Kim Zolciak — for Support After Announcing Husband's Cancer," 14 June 2018
Meanwhile, Li, Smith, and other conservationists have been working to educate locals and protect Ili pika habitat.

— National Geographic, "Rare Bunny-Faced Mammal Captured on Video," 14 June 2018
Baker encourages relatives and friends of older consumers to help them avoid becoming fraud victims by educating them.

— CBS News, "Sweepstakes, lottery scams cost Americans more than $111 million in 2017," 5 June 2018
Straight out of culinary school, Reed joined I-Collective, a group of Indigenous chefs and activists who organize pop-up dinners and seminars to educate mainstream media about Indigenous foods and rising cooks.

— nicholas mancall-bitel, Bon Appetit, "Brit Reed Is Leading a New Generation of Indigenous Chefs," 18 May 2018
In the face of the backlash, black people educated themselves.

— melinda d. anderson, The Atlantic, "The Radical Self-Reliance of Black Homeschooling," 17 May 2018
And members of the party elite who have not spent time on Western campuses will be increasingly likely to have been educated by people who have. The Communist Party’s main training centre for senior officials itself is recruiting returnees.

— The Economist, "Turtles and seagullsWhat happens when Chinese students abroad return home," 17 May 2018
Go to where homeless people are living on the streets, scoop them up and start re-educating them and help them get homes.

— courier-journal.com, "Schools under siege: Stopping gun violence," 15 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of educate

Middle English, to rear, from Latin educatus, past participle of educare to rear, educate, from educere to lead forth — more at educe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

educate Synonyms

Synonyms

indoctrinate, instruct, school, teach, train, tutor;

Related Words

coach, mentor;

drill, fit, ground, habilitate, prepare, prime, qualify;

direct, guide, lead, rear;

catechize, lecture, moralize, preach;

implant, inculcate, instill (also instil);

homeschool;

edify, enlighten;

brief, familiarize, impart (to), inform, verse;

initiate, introduce, show;

reeducate, reschool, reteach, retrain;

Synonym Discussion of educate

teach, instruct, educate, train, discipline, school mean to cause to acquire knowledge or skill. teach applies to any manner of imparting information or skill so that others may learn.

- taught us a lot about our planet

instruct suggests methodical or formal teaching.

- instructs raw recruits in military drill

educate implies development of the mind.

- more things than formal schooling serve to educate a person

train stresses instruction and drill with a specific end in view.

- trained foreign pilots to operate the new aircraft

discipline implies training in habits of order and precision.

- a disciplined mind

school implies training or disciplining especially in what is hard to master.

- schooled the horse in five gaits

EDUCATE Defined for English Language Learners

educate

verb

Definition of educate for English Language Learners

: to teach (someone) especially in a school, college, or university
: to give (someone) information about something : to train (someone) to do something

EDUCATE Defined for Kids

educate

verb ed·u·cate \ ˈe-jə-ˌkāt \

Definition of educate for Students

educated; educating

1 : to provide schooling for

Her parents are educating her at home.

2 : to develop the mind and morals of especially by formal instruction : teach

Teachers work hard to educate their students.

3 : to provide with necessary information

The public should be educated about how to save energy.

—

educator

\ˈe-jə-ˌkā-tər\ noun

Word Root of educate

The Latin word ducere, meaning “to lead,” and its form ductus give us the roots duc and duct. Words from the Latin ducere have something to do with leading. A duct is a tube that leads from one place or organ to another. To educate, or teach, is to lead to knowledge. To induce is to lead into a particular state.