instruct

verb

in-ˈstrəkt How to pronounce instruct (audio)
Definition of instructnext
1
as in to teach
to cause to acquire knowledge or skill in some field spent his military career instructing young pilots

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to tell
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

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of instruct are discipline, educate, school, teach, and train. While all these words mean "to cause to acquire knowledge or skill," instruct suggests methodical or formal teaching.

instructs raw recruits in military drill

Where would discipline be a reasonable alternative to instruct?

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

a disciplined mind

When is educate a more appropriate choice than instruct?

The words educate and instruct are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, educate implies development of the mind.

more things than formal schooling serve to educate a person

When can school be used instead of instruct?

While the synonyms school and instruct are close in meaning, school implies training or disciplining especially in what is hard to master.

schooled the horse in five gaits

When is it sensible to use teach instead of instruct?

The meanings of teach and instruct largely overlap; however, teach applies to any manner of imparting information or skill so that others may learn.

taught us a lot about our planet

When might train be a better fit than instruct?

Although the words train and instruct have much in common, 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 instruct On Monday, the jury was instructed not to hold Meta and YouTube liable for allowing third-party content, failing to remove third-party content or recommending third-party content. —Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026 Arutyunyan instructed Malinin to think of himself as a slingshot while approaching his jumps. —Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026 Before his postgame interview, Love instructed Emmanwori to hold the brew. —Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026 City agencies are also instructed to train employees on how to interact with federal immigration agents. —Mark Prussin, CBS News, 7 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for instruct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instruct
  1. teach
  2. inform
  3. tell
  4. educate
  5. advise
  6. order
  7. ask
  8. command
Verb
  • For example, if ST Engineering can make advanced vehicles in a country with more space for production plants than Singapore, the company would collaborate and teach them how to build them in a co-production effort.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
  • Colleges and universities are teaching full courses dedicated to understanding Bad Bunny’s work as a site of critical inquiry.
    — Dr. Carlos A Torre, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2026
Definition of teach
Verb
  • The experience informed his attitude toward the Oklahoma Insurance Department, with which Coppermark has had a long and litigious relationship.
    — J.C. Hallman, Oklahoman, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Facts need to be robustly and responsibly established before they’re used to inform our decision-making process.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of inform
Verb
  • The singer then materialized and handed the boy one of his Grammys and told him always to believe in himself.
    — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Crashes, luge athletes will tell you, are part of the game, a necessary teaching tool that helps young lugers learn how to navigate sliding on their back down an icy course, sometimes faster than 90 miles per hour.
    — Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Definition of tell
Verb
  • SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.
    — Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Years of disinvestment, inconsistent arts funding and bureaucratic contracting delays have hollowed out the robust infrastructure that allows these artists to educate fellow New Yorkers.
    — Kimberly Olsen, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of educate
Verb
  • MyPlate advised sticking to low-fat dairy, as seen in the low-fat yogurt and the glass of low-fat milk with dinner.
    — Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Be advised, though, that many of Carrizo Plain’s roads are dirt and become all but impassable in wet weather.
    — Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of advise
Verb
  • After more than a week at the Dilley center, the preschooler and his Ecuadorian father are back home in Minneapolis after a judge ordered them to be released.
    — Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 8 Feb. 2026
  • What sets Luckin apart has been its ability to build a robust pool of private user traffic through its smartphone ordering app, said Mingchao Xiao, founder of Zhimeng Trends Consulting.
    — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of order
Verb
  • Footage of the incident shows King Charles greeting dozens of residents when one man shouted at him, asking whether the monarch had urged police to investigate his disgraced brother, according to The Times.
    — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 6 Feb. 2026
  • But for those interested in fashion history, these red carpet looks are key texts just asking to be pored over.
    — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Definition of ask
Verb
  • Pikmin, the tremendous series of strategy games about a miniature spaceman commanding an army of tiny plant people around gardens, was inspired by his gardening fascination.
    — Chris Plante, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
  • But the film’s artistry — overflowing with excess and hedonism and an eye for commanding visuals — is impossible to dismiss.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of command

Browse Nearby Words

institutions
instruct
instructed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Instruct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instruct. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on instruct

Nglish: Translation of instruct for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

'Buck naked' or 'butt naked'?

What does 'etcetera' mean?

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What’s the difference between ‘cemetery’ and ‘graveyard’?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Did Orange the Fruit or the Color Come First?

Why Is the Letter ‘Z’ Associated With Sleeping?

The Words of the Week - Feb. 13

Why do we call it 'ides of March'?
See More

Popular

See More

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Did Orange the Fruit or the Color Come First?
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
burrowing owl athene cunicularia tilts its head outside its burrow on marco island florida
Guess the Curious Origins of These Everyday Words Oh, that’s where that comes from…
See All