instructed 1 of 2

adjective

as in informed

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instructed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of instruct
1
as in taught
to cause to acquire knowledge or skill in some field spent his military career instructing young pilots

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2
as in advised
to give information to instructed everyone in the use of the new telephone system

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in told
to issue orders to (someone) by right of authority the proctors instructed everyone to put their pencils down and hand in their tests

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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 instructed
Adjective
Prosecutors allege Maduro ordered political opponents detained and tortured, received regular updates on interrogations and instructed officials to intensify abuse. — Alice Gainer, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026 In July, President Lee Jae Myung, a liberal, instructed officials to explore ways to allow women to use the two-drug combination pack. — Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026 Judge William Sullivan denied Reddington’s request for a mistrial but instructed prosecutors to address the issue with their witness. — Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 The judge denied the motion but instructed jurors to dismiss the comments and sent them home early. — Nbc News, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2026 Refusing to step out when instructed can lead to charges like interfering with public duties or resisting detention, even if the underlying stop was for a minor violation. — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Aug. 2026 The country has introduced price caps on gasoline and other petroleum products for the first time in decades to prevent costs from soaring, and instructed refiners to divert naphtha exports for domestic use while scrambling to secure alternative oil supplies and shipping routes. — ABC News, 7 May 2026 Its demise has stranded thousands of passengers who have to adjust plans and millions who have tickets for future dates — Spirit canceled all flights, shut down its customer service and instructed customers not to go to the airport. — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 2 May 2026 The Plus line consists of food-flavoring essential oils that are pure enough to ingest (only in the instructed amounts). — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026
Verb
Residents have been instructed to remain indoors, close all windows and doors and turn off all ventilation systems that bring in outside air, according to the city. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026 The inquiry asked about the NBA’s role in the matter, possible discipline and whether the teams would be instructed to be present for the anthem before Wednesday’s Game 3. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026 The judge instructed an all-white jury to assume the 16-year-old meant to kill multiple people. — Sea Stachura, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026 Defense lawyer Lawrence Obonyo, who represents Mackenzie and almost all of the others convicted, said he had been instructed to appeal. — Jefferson Kahinju Reuters, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026 After being asked about the inaccurate wait times, the county said in a Tuesday email that election workers had been instructed to update the voting queue every 20 minutes and would now update it every 10 minutes. — Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026 After the Biden administration sued, arguing the state’s ban conflicted with EMTALA, Idaho lost in lower and appellate courts, leaving its ban effectively frozen in emergency cases, with doctors instructed to follow the federal guidance. — Cassandra Jaramillo, ProPublica, 19 Oct. 2026 The attack sparked a wave of criticism from European officials, just weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron instructed lawmakers to draft a new protection plan against the growing threat of cyberattacks in the country, and beyond. — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026 The initial alert instructed people to avoid the area near the chemistry and microbiology buildings because of police activity. — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instructed
  1. informed
  2. taught
  3. advised
  4. told
  5. trained
  6. educated
  7. briefed
  8. ordered
Adjective
  • Yet every experiment brings us closer to a system that can learn about novel changes in its surroundings and make informed choices on what action to take next.
    — Mike McRae October 19, New Atlas, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Stifling the public’s access to information necessary to help cast informed votes is a loss for American democracy and the most basic of personal liberties.
    — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of informed
Verb
  • The class begins with incarcerated people being taught general knowledge of the industry.
    — Sydney Sasser, Charlotte Observer, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Tyx has lived in the Kansas City area for four years and previously taught middle school Spanish.
    — Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 5 Aug. 2025
Definition of taught
Verb
  • Her doctors advised her to wait two years before trying to get pregnant again to ensure the cancer wouldn’t return.
    — Alice Park, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • People are advised to watch for signs of rodent activity including droppings, gnaw marks, scratching or scurrying sounds and rub marks along baseboards or around entry points.
    — Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado Updated October 21, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of advised
Verb
  • Switzerland's foreign ministry told The Associated Press on Friday that the woman, married to a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria, had not visited Congo and was believed to have contracted Ebola while traveling to Uganda.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Scholten told Semafor that experience positions Turek to convert frustrated Republicans.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of told
Adjective
  • Hundreds of millions of people are using its generative AI tools each week, so people are beginning to tap into the power of these generative pre-trained transformers (GPT) and large language models (LLMs).
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Even trained and experienced guides may violate emotional or interpersonal boundaries of participants, who are in vulnerable and suggestible states brought on by the effects of the drugs themselves.
    — Erica Rex, STAT, 19 Feb. 2026
Definition of trained
Verb
  • He was educated at Middlebury College, and lived in New York City for 15 years, before settling back on the farm with his wife, Olga, and their children, Fiona and Abraham.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Of that cohort, CSET found that 70 percent were foreign-born or foreign- educated.
    — Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of educated
Verb
  • Federal authorities seized Omar's phone in the search and have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of her relatives, a person briefed on the probe told the AP this week.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The gun had been purchased by his mother, a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN earlier Friday.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of briefed
Verb
  • Still, questions have persisted about who ordered the interruptions to the satellite internet system that Kyiv has relied on for years to counter Moscow's attacks.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • SpaceX’s temporary throttling of the satellite service disrupted Ukrainian drone missions and air defenses, raising questions about who ordered the changes and straining ties with Washington.
    — Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of ordered

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Cite this Entry

“Instructed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instructed. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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