instruct

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 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed his team to push for ceasefire terms and security guarantees without compromising Ukraine's territorial integrity. Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025 China is also instructing its carriers to stop buying airline parts and other components from U.S. companies, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the situation. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2025 As a private contractor, Harris taught Roku Jutsu for over 25 years, instructing clients in close-quarters combat. Ethan Stone, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025 So, if a failing coal power plant is instructed by DOE to stay open to help maintain the electric supply for new data centers, the public would likely be stuck with extra utility costs as well as potential health costs. Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for instruct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instruct
Verb
  • More than a decade on, the So Kates have become such a fixture in Zendaya’s wardrobe that even her employers, Louis Vuitton and Valentino, have been taught to expect no less.
    Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Supervisors who focused not just on academic content, but also on teaching academic skills and demystifying academic culture, helped students feel more equipped and less alone.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Its measurements of ocean salinity and temperatures inform Navy operations, according to the Council on Strategic Risks, a nonpartisan security policy institute in Washington.
    Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Becky, having seen Darlene and Chad together at the bar, informs Ben about Chad.
    Randall Colburn, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The percentage tells the public how much of the fire perimeter is believed to not go beyond the control lines.
    CA WILDFIRE BOT, Sacbee.com, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Fast-forward to today, and the experts now tell us students may ...
    James V. Shuls, National Review, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • This free forum will help educate the community on the probate process and available resources available to start estate planning efforts.
    Joe Rassel, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2025
  • The initiative: The film highlights a specific local program called Galapagos Infinito, designed to educate tweens from the area about their island home.
    DeVonne Goode, Parents, 22 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Peel Regional Police advised people to check with the airport regarding flight delays. Update 4/24/25 10:44 p.m.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Kross advises readers to take advantage of these resets.
    Anne Sugar, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News.
    Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2025
  • That same year, however, U.S. troops in Syria and neighboring Iraq increasingly clashed with local militias aligned with Iran, escalating to the point of Trump ordering the killing of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Major General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.
    Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • In 2017, the National Institutes of Health asked Hotez to meet with Kennedy to move him off the hobbyhorse of a vaccine-autism link.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Councilmember Vivian Moreno expressed frustration that Get It Done is so internet-based, when many San Diegans lack access and rely on telephones to ask city officials questions or report complaints.
    David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Isaacman is a billionaire pilot and astronaut who founded the Shift4 Payments company as a teenager and commanded the first civilian space crew in 2021 aboard a SpaceX capsule.
    Karen Freifeld, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Isaacman funded and commanded Polaris Dawn, a private SpaceX flight that circled Earth for nearly five days last September.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 24 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Instruct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instruct. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on instruct

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