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.

See Examples For:

taught

I may or may not have rolled my eyes, expecting to see a spider—something my North London upbringing taught me to care little about—when I froze.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

Whatnot auctions’ chaos and speed mean there’s no meaningful moment of decision, said Mark Leiser, an expert on deceptive design who taught digital law at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Changing the way children are taught might help ensure they are "not left unemployed and sectors that need people are not left underemployed".

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

But it articulates the logic hovering around the episode: If Americans can be taught to eat correctly, perhaps they will require less care — and perhaps the government can spend less providing it.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

She explains that she had been taught from childhood to respect priests and what they represent in the Catholic religion, but she is finding it more and more difficult to do so.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

taught

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

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