autodidactic

[ aw-toh-dahy-dak-tik ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

relating to or being a person who learns or has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; self-taught:
I am self-motivated, self-sufficient, and autodidactic—all products of a childhood on an Alaskan homestead.

Discover More

Other Words From

au·to·di·dac·ti·cal·ly adverb

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of autodidactic¹

autodidact ( def ) + -ic

Discover More

Example Sentences

Being at heart an autodidact, whenever I grow interested in a subject, a period of history or a writer, I try to accumulate all the important books associated with that subject, period of history or writer.

From Washington Post

He was an autodidact who could play almost any instrument, but he couldn’t read music.

From Fortune

autodidact autodidacticism

Browse