educate

verb

ed·​u·​cate ˈe-jə-ˌkāt How to pronounce educate (audio)
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
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2025 Also included are funds for predominantly Black institutions and Native American-serving institutions, which are colleges that educate a large share of Black or Native students, but are not designated by the government as historically Black colleges or universities (HBCUs) or tribal colleges. Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025 Each participant was educated on how to follow a ketogenic diet consisting of fewer than 50 grams of carbs per day, combined with higher fat and moderate protein intake. Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025 Sharon Olds was born in San Francisco and educated at Stanford University and Columbia University. Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for educate

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 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of educate was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Educate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/educate. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

educate

verb
ed·​u·​cate ˈej-ə-ˌkāt How to pronounce educate (audio)
educated; educating
1
: to provide schooling for
2
a
: to develop the mind and morals of especially by instruction
educator
-ˌkāt-ər
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on educate

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