INSTRUCTS Synonyms: 108 Similar and Opposite Words

instructs

verb

present tense third-person singular of instruct

as in teaches

to cause to acquire knowledge or skill in some field spent his military career instructing young pilots

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in informs

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in tells

to issue orders to (someone) by right of authority the proctors instructed everyone to put their pencils down and hand in their tests

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 instructs When Little John struggles to describe his dream girl, Robin instructs his protegee to sketch an image with words. —

Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026 The resolution by Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins instructs Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to pursue clawing back money from the Host Committee if the county can determine federal dollars are now paying for expenses that Miami-Dade agreed to cover with its $21 million allocation. —

Douglas Hanks june 17, Miami Herald, 17 June 2026 In the nearly five-minute clip, a blonde woman with a heavy midwestern accent instructs viewers on how to draw the medication from the vial and where to inject it on the body. —

Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 16 June 2026 The cancer instructs the body to build super roadways (blood vessels) and homes (tumor cells) resistant to decay. —

Charles J. Dimitroff, The Conversation, 12 June 2026 Emmett holds the two men at gunpoint and instructs them to transport him to a specific location to evade capture. —

Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 6 June 2026 This portion instructs Claude to be attentive to the well-being of users. —

Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026 When the external environment reaches above 25 degrees Celsius, or 77 degrees Fahrenheit, the brain’s hypothalamus instructs the glands to release sweat. —

Sophia Dyer, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 May 2026 The legislation, which won't take effect until after the November 2026 election, instructs the secretary of the Senate to place senators' paychecks on hold during the duration of any future federal government shutdowns. —

Lalee Ibssa, ABC News, 14 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for instructs

Verb

Policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, said regardless of the circumstances, the officer should not have fired at the car.

— Travis Loller, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026
De Marco, who teaches a daily morning yoga class, meticulously tends to every detail of the space with a team of wellness therapists trained in ancient Ayurvedic modalities.

— Sandra Guzmán, USA Today, 18 June 2026