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school

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word school different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of school are discipline, educate, instruct, teach, and train. While all these words mean "to cause to acquire knowledge or skill," school implies training or disciplining especially in what is hard to master.

schooled the horse in five gaits

When is discipline a more appropriate choice than school?

While in some cases nearly identical to school, discipline implies training in habits of order and precision.

a disciplined mind

In what contexts can educate take the place of school?

While the synonyms educate and school are close in meaning, educate implies development of the mind.

more things than formal schooling serve to educate a person

When might instruct be a better fit than school?

The synonyms instruct and school are sometimes interchangeable, but instruct suggests methodical or formal teaching.

instructs raw recruits in military drill

When is it sensible to use teach instead of school?

In some situations, the words teach and school are roughly equivalent. However, teach applies to any manner of imparting information or skill so that others may learn.

taught us a lot about our planet

When can train be used instead of school?

The words train and school can be used in similar contexts, but train stresses instruction and drill with a specific end in view.

trained foreign pilots to operate the new aircraft

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of school
Noun
After dropping the kids off, Molly returned home to work, while Matt went inside the church for the first weekly Wednesday school mass of the academic year. Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025 However, a new school rule says that no magic is allowed on campus. Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
Christy Roscoe home-schooled their two now-adult sons and then their two now-young adult daughters, adopted from Liberia. Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2025 Before delaying your to-do list, school yourself on the best vacuum brands vetted by AD editors. Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for school
Recent Examples of Synonyms for school
Noun
  • While the department already consists of head of technical recruitment and analysis Maximilian Hahn, sporting director Mark Noble (whose remit is the academy), European scouts Georges Santos and Antonio Tramontano, and first-team scout Adrian Clarke, there is a clear gap at the top.
    Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Like the rest of the new 2025 backers, FirstTracks is coming into Two Oaks Ventures, which owns the MLS team and operates its academy, its MLS Next Pro franchise and Q2 Stadium.
    Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Novelists—those modern counterparts to the epic poets—have something to teach all those constituencies.
    Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
  • She's not getting taught the base of the dance.
    Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Before the ban, police in Punjab raided the house of the TLP's leader, Saad Rizvi, and the government sealed mosques and seminaries associated with the party.
    NPR, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The state visit concluded with King Charles attending a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary which trains priests from across the Commonwealth.
    Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Employers should foster transparent, safe ways for employees to voice concerns inside the organization and educate managers on how to handle them.
    Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Word had gotten around that the home belonged to an elder activist, an old-school Garveyite who had come from the South to educate the city of Brotherly Love’s Black masses.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“School.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/school. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on school

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