Meaning & use

autodidact

noun·Advanced

A person who has taught themselves a subject or skill without formal instruction.

See it in a sentence

A lifelong autodidact, he learned three languages entirely from library books.

The self-made engineer was an autodidact who never attended a university.

A note on using this word

Autodidact comes from Greek roots meaning 'self' and 'teach,' and it always implies learning without a formal teacher or classroom.

Words with a similar meaning

self-taught learner

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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