education

English

Alternative forms

• (generally jocular) educashun, educamation

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French éducation, from Latin ēducātiō (“a breeding, bringing up, rearing”), from ēdūcō (“I educate, train”), from ēdūcō (“I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect”). See educate. Morphologically educate +‎ -ion

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɛd͡ʒ.ʊˈkeɪ.ʃən/, /ˌɛd.jʊˈkeɪ.ʃən/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɛd͡ʒ.əˈkeɪ.ʃən/, /ˌɛd͡ʒ.ʊˈkeɪ.ʃən/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Hyphenation: ed‧u‧ca‧tion

Noun

education (countable and uncountable, plural educations)

1. (uncountable) The process of imparting knowledge, skill and judgment.
   • 2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1:

     One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools […] as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.

   Good education is essential for a well-run society.

   • Imparting definition

     present participle of impart

   • Knowledge definition

     The fact of knowing about something; general understanding or familiarity with a subject, place, situation etc. (1 of 12 knowledge definitions)

   • Skill definition

     Capacity to do something well; technique, ability. Skills are usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities, which are often thought of as innate. (1 of 4 skill definitions)

   • Judgment definition

     The act of judging. (1 of 5 judgment definitions)
2. (countable) Facts, skills and ideas that have been learned, especially through formal instruction.
   • 2006 Feb. 17, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 4:

     Nuh-nuh-doin'-duh... Nuh-nuh-doin'-duh... We don't need no education...
     Yes, you do. You've just used a double negative.

   • 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:

     It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. […] It is the starving of the public sector which has been pivotal in America no longer being the land of opportunity – with a child's life prospects more dependent on the income and education of its parents than in other advanced countries.

   He has had a classical education.

   The educations our children receive depend on their economic status.

   • Fact definition

     Something actual as opposed to invented. (1 of 9 fact definitions)

   • Idea definition

     An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples. (1 of 9 idea definitions)

   • Learned definition

     Having much learning, knowledgeable, erudite; highly educated. (1 of 3 learned definitions)

   • Especially definition

     In a special manner; specially. (1 of 3 especially definitions)

   • Formal definition

     Being in accord with established forms. (1 of 8 formal definitions)

   • Instruction definition

     The act of instructing, teaching, or furnishing with information or knowledge. (1 of 5 instruction definitions)

   • Double Negative definition

     A phrase including two negative words (no, not, never, etc.) especially when used as intensifiers in informal English.

Derived terms

Related terms

• educate

Translations

See also

• training
• schooling

References

• education at OneLook Dictionary Search.
• education in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• education in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• auctioned, cautioned