educate

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verb ed·u·cate \ ˈe-jə-ˌkāt \

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 February, Stevenson appeared before the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg County commissioners to applaud CMPD offering a Citizen’s Academy, which educates participants on police policies, training and methods.

— anna douglas and michael gordon and steve harrison, charlotteobserver, "City Hall confusion, delay left an empty chair at Keith Scott’s police shooting review," 25 Aug. 2017
People who are educated and well-informed are more difficult to control.

— moisés naím, The Atlantic, "The Uprising of the Global Middle Class," 25 Aug. 2017
The Detroit Public Schools Community District, which exists solely to educate students, was created last year via a $617-million legislative plan to resolve the debt of DPS.

— lori higgins, Detroit Free Press, "Sodexo lawsuit against Detroit schools officially over after $28M settlement," 24 Aug. 2017
Board member Armina Gharpetian suggested district staff host workshops for parents to help educate them about suicide awareness.

— priscella vega, Glendale News-Press, "Under state mandate, Glendale Unified adopts policy on suicide prevention," 23 Aug. 2017
The belief that colleges are doing a good job of educating students.

— kyler sumter, USA TODAY College, "Most Republicans see U.S. colleges as too 'liberal and political'," 21 Aug. 2017
Those who attend must commit to 30 hours of volunteer time to educate others in their community to reduce waste in the home and at work.

— Post-Tribune, "Community calendar," 11 Aug. 2017
But a female parliamentarian from the far-western district of Doti, where menstrual exile is still practiced, said the legislation passed Wednesday alone would not be enough, and the government should also invest in educating women on good hygiene.

— roshan sedhai, The Seattle Times, "Nepal strengthens laws against dowry, menstrual exile," 10 Aug. 2017
College educated, well-spoken, and overly self-confident.

— sydney scott, Essence.com, "Stephen Miller And His White Nationalist Views Are Being Considered To Replace Scaramucci," 7 Aug. 2017

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

See Words from the same year

educate Synonyms

Synonyms

teach, indoctrinate, instruct, lesson, school, 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

Near Antonyms

confuse, perplex, puzzle; becloud, cloud, darken, obscure

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

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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

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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.

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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.