Meaning & use
autodidact
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Meaning
nouncountableformal
Someone who has learned a subject or skill mostly on their own, through reading and practice rather than lessons or a school course.
Grammar: Countable: she is an autodidact; they are autodidacts.
Patterns
- an autodidact in something
- a self-taught autodidact
The famous mathematician was an autodidact who learned algebra from borrowed library books.
As an autodidact, he built his coding skills from online tutorials and trial and error.
Many gifted musicians are autodidacts who never had a formal lesson.
Word forms
| plural | autodidacts |
|---|
Common combinations
- a self-taught autodidact
- He described himself as a self-taught autodidact, though he admitted to having a few good mentors.
- a gifted autodidact
- The gifted autodidact fixed the engine without a manual.
- a lifelong autodidact
- A lifelong autodidact, she kept mastering new languages in retirement.
- an autodidact by necessity
- Growing up without a school nearby, she became an autodidact by necessity.
- proud autodidact
- The proud autodidact liked to say his best teacher was the public library.
Synonyms and how they differ
- self-taught person
- Self-taught person is plain, everyday English, while autodidact sounds more formal and often admiring.
- polymath
- A polymath knows a great deal about many subjects, whether or not they taught themselves, so it describes breadth rather than how they learned.
- amateur
- Amateur focuses on doing something without being a paid professional, and can suggest lesser skill, which autodidact does not.
Word family
- autodidactic adjective
- relating to self-teaching
- didactic adjective
- meant to teach, often in a preachy way
- autodidacticism noun
- the practice of teaching yourself
Commonly confused: autodidact or autocrat?
autodidact vs autocrat
An autocrat is a ruler with absolute power, while an autodidact is a self-taught learner.
Practice
Which person is best described as an autodidact?
Choose one answer.
An autodidact learns without formal teaching. The others all involve instruction or a structured course.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “autodidact”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.