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Definitions

taught

[tawt] / tɔt /
ADJECTIVE
instructed
Synonyms
STRONG
coached directed educated informed learned trained
Antonyms
STRONG
ignorant inexperienced stupid uninformed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for taught?
Taught is the past tense of teach. Synonyms of taught include the past tense forms of the synonyms of teach, including instructed and educated. Other terms are a bit more specific. Schooled often means formally taught at a specific school or learning institution, but it can also be applied to situations in which a person was instructed in a specific field, especially by a specified person or group, as in I was schooled in the art of fly-fishing by my uncle. Trained implies that a person was taught how to do a specific task, especially a specific job, but it can also be used more generally. Coached is most commonly used in the context of athletics, but it can be used in others. When used outside of sports, it often implies that the instruction was provided along with advice. In the context of education, coached is usually used in situations that involve a student having been prepared by someone for general aspects of academics (such as studying or taking tests), as opposed to being taught specific material. For example: My tutor coached me on how to approach each essay question. Taught is used in the terms well-taught and self-taught.
What is another word for self-taught?
A synonym for self-taught is self-educated, but self-taught is more commonly used. A very formal word for someone who is considered self-taught is autodidact. Its adjective form, autodidactic, is typically applied to learning processes (as opposed to people).
What is the opposite (antonym) of taught?
The word taught is often used when contrasting skills, talents, and abilities that can be learned or acquired (such as through being taught, studying, and practicing) with those that, according to some, simply must come naturally to a person. Words that contrast with learned abilities include natural and innate, as in innate skill and natural talent. Similar words are inherent and inborn, both of which are often a way of saying that a person was born with an ability (as opposed to having been taught it).
What is the difference between innate and taught?
Innate and taught are often used as opposites, especially in the context of skills, talents, and abilities. Taught (or perhaps more often learned) suggests that the skill or ability was acquired due to study, while innate implies that a person can do it naturally—that they were simply born with the ability.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She was the top student at a local school for young ladies, where she learned to speak French, studied the world outside her community and was taught to express her opinions, which were sometimes controversial.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

No, the virtues for a life well-lived are taught, modeled and practiced in the daily life of society’s smallest but most important platoons—chief among them the family.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Dame Judi said: "Sir David, happy birthday, and how lucky we are to get this opportunity to thank you, for all the things that you've told us and taught us."

From BBC • May 8, 2026

“He really was very good at being thoughtful and careful and not particularly conspicuous,” said Laurence Tribe, who taught Roberts constitutional law at Harvard.

From Slate • May 7, 2026

I was not afraid, because Togbe had taught me that most animals only attacked if threatened, and out here I had a chance to meet them without anyone else antagonizing them.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo