INSTRUCTED Synonyms: 168 Similar and Opposite Words

instructed 1 of 2

adjective

as in informed

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Dissimilar Words

instructed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of instruct

as in taught

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in advised

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in told

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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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 instructed

Adjective

Judge William Sullivan denied Reddington’s request for a mistrial but instructed prosecutors to address the issue with their witness. — Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 The judge denied the motion but instructed jurors to dismiss the comments and sent them home early. — Nbc News, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2026 Refusing to step out when instructed can lead to charges like interfering with public duties or resisting detention, even if the underlying stop was for a minor violation. — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Aug. 2026 The country has introduced price caps on gasoline and other petroleum products for the first time in decades to prevent costs from soaring, and instructed refiners to divert naphtha exports for domestic use while scrambling to secure alternative oil supplies and shipping routes. — ABC News, 7 May 2026 Its demise has stranded thousands of passengers who have to adjust plans and millions who have tickets for future dates — Spirit canceled all flights, shut down its customer service and instructed customers not to go to the airport. — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 2 May 2026 The Plus line consists of food-flavoring essential oils that are pure enough to ingest (only in the instructed amounts). — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026 Workers reported that in early August supervisors cut night shifts and later instructed casual and contract workers not to return. — Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 2 Oct. 2025 The company removed the press release from its website and instructed employees not to mention it again, according to the filing. — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2025

Verb

The Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor was instructed to file a complaint and seek a review from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. — Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 Prosecutors said the witness was not intending to be inflammatory and asked that the jury be instructed to dismiss the statements from Heilbrun on her religion. — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026 The judge immediately called a sidebar and instructed the jury not to consider that question. — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026 She was instructed to think of someone in her life, describe them, walk around as them, become them — then pull from other real-life situations, then let the magic of fiction take over. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026 The incident comes days after the judge instructed the jury to disregard another question about religion. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026 Police said the boys told investigators they were instructed to pose naked for Barr. — Garrett Behanna, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026 Prior to the concert, Hager explained that her eldest daughter, Mila, had instructed her to wear polka dots to the event. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Aug. 2026 When a user instructed Copilot to summarize the page, the assistant followed instructions hidden in the page metadata to update the memory. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for instructed

Adjective

Mercury in Virgo favors informed decisions, especially if minor details could completely derail your plans moving forward.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026
Officials urge the public to stay informed about changing conditions and closures.

— Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of informed

Verb

Larry Magid, a longtime online-safety advocate who has advised Meta on safety issues and CEO of ConnectSafely, thinks the cigarette comparison only goes so far.

— Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
Earlier this year, LOVB hired sports investment bank Inner Circle Sports, which previously advised the NWSL on its expansion process, to advise on its next phase of expansion and long-term growth.

— Asli Pelit, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of advised

Verb

The catalog spans genres such as fantasy, family drama, romance and billionaire romance, told in episodes running 60-90 seconds.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
Roughly half of Stars and Stripes' $29 million annual budget comes from taxpayers, a person familiar with the newspaper's operations told CBS News last week.

— Joe Walsh, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of told

Adjective

Hundreds of millions of people are using its generative AI tools each week, so people are beginning to tap into the power of these generative pre-trained transformers (GPT) and large language models (LLMs).

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Even trained and experienced guides may violate emotional or interpersonal boundaries of participants, who are in vulnerable and suggestible states brought on by the effects of the drugs themselves.

— Erica Rex, STAT, 19 Feb. 2026

Definition of trained

Verb

But these students must also be educated alongside general education peers to meet federal and state class size and inclusivity regulations.

— Melissa Brown, Chalkbeat, 27 Aug. 2026
Under the current Blueprint structure, the individuals making the final decisions on how Carroll County’s children are educated do not live here, do not answer to our voters and cannot be held accountable at the ballot box.

— Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of educated

Verb

The purpose of Ratcliffe’s trip to the Russian capital was first reported Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources briefed on the trip.

— Sam Meredith, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Sources briefed on the transfer, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, indicate a fee in the region of £4million has been agreed with Hajduk.

— Michael Walker, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of briefed

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“Instructed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instructed. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of instructed

adjective

verb

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