didactic

adjective

dī-ˈdak-tik How to pronounce didactic (audio)
Definition of didacticnext
as in moralizing
marked by or given to preaching moral values the poet's works became increasingly didactic after his religious conversion

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 didactic The landscape is didactic, insistent. — Christopher Hooks, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026 Critics have speculated about why Virgil would choose to end his didactic pastoral epic with such a story. — Literary Hub, 12 June 2026 Navy excels at untangling human emotions and picking through them without being didactic or moralistic. — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 10 June 2026 Among the few genres of art in which the didactic flourishes today is science fiction. — David S. Wallace, New Yorker, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for didactic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for didactic
  1. moralizing
  2. moralistic
  3. instructive
  4. preachy
  5. homiletic
Adjective
  • But the show also develops a moralizing streak in its back half.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Eliot departs here from the moralizing messages of Memling and La Tour.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of moralizing
Adjective
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal, which launches on October 6, is a coming-of-age, roadtrip, moralistic odyssey about the lies people tell themselves and each other.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
  • If the senator’s moralism has been unfettered by his stroke, with a shift toward right-brain moralistic processing, that does not diminish his sincere intent or its effect.
    — Michael P.H. Stanley, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of moralistic
Adjective
  • Some of the comments could have been kinder or more civil, but many others are both instructive and nuanced.
    — the Monitor's Editorial Board, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Doris Sommer’s Bilingual Aesthetics was instructive for me here.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of instructive
Adjective
  • In the final stretch of his coaching run, Pop became almost as famous for his preachy political lectures at the press podium.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • That includes the power outage shutting down cell phone networks and Sunburn deliberately not being preachy about the often-talked about mental health risks for young people from excessive technology use.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of preachy
Adjective
  • The preacher’s experience, insights and emotions all come into play when composing the homiletic text.
    — Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 6 July 2023
  • There’s a word for this style of narrative preaching—homiletic.
    — Jo Livingstone, The New Republic, 6 Apr. 2021
Definition of homiletic

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Cite this Entry

“Didactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/didactic. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on didactic

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about didactic

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