educate

verb

ed·​u·​cate ˈe-jə-ˌkāt 

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

Synonyms of educate

• teach

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of educate in a Sentence

Parents trust schools to educate their children.

The job of our public schools is to educate.

Recent Examples on the Web

SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. —Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 2 Jan. 2026

Parents are questioning whether four years and six figures are worth it, especially as campuses are increasingly overtaken by chaos, radical activism, and administrators more concerned with appeasing ideological mobs than educating students. —Riley Gaines Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Jan. 2026

To have a chance at ousting the incumbents, Cooper said Cunningham and Majeeds’ challengers will have to succeed at educating voters about what happened in 2025 at a time when many don’t follow the legislature closely. —Mary Ramsey january 1, Charlotte Observer, 1 Jan. 2026

Some parents are excited to test the toys, hoping that the chatty bot interactions will educate and entertain their children. —Queenie Wong, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2a

Phrases Containing educate

• self-educate

Rhymes for educate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Kids Definition

educate

verb

ed·​u·​cate ˈej-ə-ˌkāt 

educated; educating

1

: to provide schooling for

2

a

: to develop the mind and morals of especially by instruction

b

: train entry 2 sense 2a

educator

-ˌkāt-ər

noun