INSTRUCT • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Instruct

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/ɪnstrˈəkt/ Listen

verb

Instruct v. t. (past & past part. instructed; pres. part. instructing)

1.

To put in order; to form; to prepare. (Obs.) "They speak to the merits of a cause, after the proctor has prepared and instructed the same for a hearing."

2.

To form by communication of knowledge; to inform the mind of; to impart knowledge or information to; to enlighten; to teach; to discipline. "Schoolmasters will I keep within my house, Fit to instruct her youth."

3.

To furnish with directions; to advise; to direct; to command; as, the judge instructs the jury. "She, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger." "Take her in; instruct her what she has to do."

Synonyms: To teach; educate; inform; train; discipline; indoctrinate; direct; enjoin.

adjective

Instruct adj.

1.

Arranged; furnished; provided. (Obs.) "He had neither ship instruct with oars, nor men."

2.

Instructed; taught; enlightened. (Obs.)

See images of 'Instruct'

Etymology of 'Instruct'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Instruct" Quotes from Famous Books

... doubt here and there simple discussions but there is no pedantry or gymnastics of logic. Even the most casual reader cannot but be struck with the earnestness and enthusiasm of the sages. They run from place to place with great eagerness in search of a teacher competent to instruct them about the nature of Brahman. Where is Brahman? What is ...

— A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1 • Surendranath Dasgupta

... how great a commodity of doctrine exists in books, how easily, how secretly, how safely they expose the nakedness of human ignorance without putting it to shame. These are the masters that instruct us without rods and ferulas, without hard words and anger, without clothes or money. If you approach them, they are not asleep; if investigating you interrogate them, they conceal nothing; if you mistake them, they never grumble, if you ...

— The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to prose. Volume III (of X) - Great Britain and Ireland I • Francis W. Halsey

... that all these things attend the doctrine of morals: the ceremonies being in themselves more apt to instruct men in the knowledge of Christ, they being by God's ordination, figures, shadows, representations, and emblems of him; but the morals are not so, neither, as written in our natures, nor as written ...

— The Works of John Bunyan • John Bunyan

... encamped on a great steppe north of Shestakova, the happy idea occurred to me that I might pass away these long evenings out of doors, by delivering a course of lectures to my native drivers upon the wonders of modern science. It would amuse me and at the same time instruct them—or at least I hoped it would, and I proceeded at once to put the plan into execution. I turned my attention first to astronomy. Camping out on the open steppe, with no roof above except the starry ...

— Tent Life in Siberia • George Kennan

... the point. Admitting that the 4.1 percent figure was "an objective to be achieved over a period of time," he could do little but instruct the commanders concerned to indicate in future requisitions that they wanted black officers as fillers or replacements in black units. Clearly, as long as the number of black officers remained so low, the provisions of Circular 124 calling for ...

— Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 • Morris J. MacGregor Jr.

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