INSTRUCTS Synonyms: 108 Similar and Opposite Words

instructs

verb

present tense third-person singular of instruct

as in teaches

to cause to acquire knowledge or skill in some field spent his military career instructing young pilots

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in informs

to give information to instructed everyone in the use of the new telephone system

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in tells

to issue orders to (someone) by right of authority the proctors instructed everyone to put their pencils down and hand in their tests

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of instructs The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Tuesday morning, after Tinkler Mendez instructs them on the law. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 Its facilitator handbook encourages children to share their pronouns and instructs adults to use gender-neutral language. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026 When Sita begs Rama to follow a demon disguised as a beautiful golden deer, Rama draws a magical protective circle around the princess and instructs her to stay within the circle’s borders. — Sohini Sarah Pillai, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026 Once identified, the AI then instructs the robot’s grippers to grab the item from the waste stream, ready for processing. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026 David instructs Johnny to find out what Taylor & Byrne know about Flora Monroe, discreetly. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 The legislation also instructs officials from the National Park Service to remove any such signage installed without Congressional approval. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 7 Oct. 2026 However, the order instructs officials to explore ways to forgive the tax obligations, including potentially legislation. — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026 In this model, the device being signed into presents a code and instructs the user to enter it into a browser on a separate device. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for instructs

Verb

Kendall teaches children and teenagers to break down anxiety-provoking situations, such as finding friends to sit with in the cafeteria or asking someone for a date, into smaller steps and planning what to do if something goes wrong.

— Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
In addition to outdoor play, the research supports pairing the outdoor time with a 15-minute daily lesson of social-emotional learning that teaches students about empathy, respect and self-esteem.

— Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of teaches

Verb

Not long after, the school system, which educates more than 150,000 students, changed its admissions practices to eliminate an extra in-person exam.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
The organization educates veterans about underutilized resources and opportunities.

— Monique John, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of educates

Verb

Serhiy Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian military analyst who advises Zelensky on weapons technologies, said an operational Rassvet system would create an imbalance in the adversaries’ capabilities.

— Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2026
Littley likewise advises following the package or recipe directions for the specific rice.

— Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of advises

Verb

Continue reading … COURT ORDER — Judge orders Trump to sit for deposition in his $10B defamation lawsuit against BBC.

— , FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
According to the lawsuit, Thomas frequently visits McDonald’s and orders a Quarter Pounder with cheese, fries and a Coke.

— Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of orders

Verb

Unlike an ordinary instruction that explicitly asks a robot to perform a harmful action, the trigger appeared as two seemingly unrelated letters attached to an otherwise normal request.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
The ruling is on hold pending an appeal, and Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the program would continue uninterrupted as the state asks the Ohio Supreme Court to review the case.

— Bilin Lin, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of asks

Verb

The Federal Arbitration Act commands arbitration awards receive high deference and can only be vacated in limited circumstances, such as when the arbitrator engaged in fraud.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 26 Oct. 2026
For brand strategists, that points to a bifurcated market where prestige equity still commands a premium but messaging around resourcefulness and value is no longer a down-market cue.

— Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of commands

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instructresses

instructs

instrument

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“Instructs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instructs. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of instructs

verb

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