Educate vs. Inform: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Educate means to impart knowledge or skills through instruction and teaching, while inform involves providing information, facts, or news to someone. Both actions involve sharing knowledge but differ in their methods and objectives.
Key Differences
Educate involves a process of teaching that is usually structured and aims to impart knowledge, skills, or moral values. It often involves a level of mentorship and guidance. Inform, in contrast, is the act of providing facts or data. It is usually a one-way communication focused on delivering specific information.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 12, 2023
Educate typically implies a deeper level of engagement, where the goal is not just to transmit information but to develop understanding and critical thinking. It's a comprehensive process that may include instruction, training, and personal development. Inform is more about relaying facts or knowledge without necessarily intending to develop the recipient's skills or understanding.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 12, 2023
Educate often has a broader scope, including formal settings like schools and universities, and informal ones like life experiences. Education is about facilitating learning and intellectual growth. Inform is more immediate and situational, often used in contexts like news reporting, updating someone on a situation, or providing specific instructions.
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Nov 12, 2023
While educate usually involves a longer-term commitment to learning, inform tends to be more immediate and transactional. For example, a teacher educates students over a semester, while a journalist informs the public with a news report.
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Nov 12, 2023
Educate can also involve a transformational aspect, influencing one's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. It's about fostering understanding and wisdom. Inform is more neutral, simply aiming to update or notify someone about something without necessarily influencing their deeper understanding or beliefs.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 12, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Objective
To impart knowledge and develop understanding.
To provide specific information or facts.
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Scope
Broad, including formal and informal learning.
Specific to the information being communicated.
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Engagement
Involves mentorship and intellectual growth.
Usually a one-way communication of facts.
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Nov 12, 2023
Impact
Transformational, affecting understanding and attitudes.
Informative, providing updates or knowledge without deeper impact.
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Nov 12, 2023
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Educate and Inform Definitions
Educate
To teach or provide knowledge and understanding.
The program aims to educate young people about environmental issues.
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Nov 12, 2023
Inform
To supply someone with the latest news or developments.
Journalists inform the public about current events.
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Nov 12, 2023
Educate
To give intellectual, moral, and social instruction.
Parents educate their children about right and wrong.
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Nov 12, 2023
Inform
To notify someone about a situation or fact.
He was informed of the meeting change by email.
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Nov 12, 2023
Educate
To inform someone in a way that improves understanding and judgment.
Documentaries educate the public about various social issues.
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Nov 12, 2023
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Inform
To communicate knowledge to someone.
The manager informed her team about the new policy.
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Nov 12, 2023
Educate
To develop the intellectual and moral faculties.
Great teachers educate students to think critically.
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Nov 12, 2023
Inform
To make known something to someone.
She informed her friends about her travel plans.
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Nov 12, 2023
Educate
To provide schooling or training.
The university educates thousands of students each year.
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Nov 12, 2023
Inform
To impart information to; make aware of something
We were informed by mail of the change in plans. The nurse informed me that visiting hours were over.
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Oct 19, 2023
Educate
To develop the mental, moral, or social capabilities of, especially by schooling or instruction.
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Oct 19, 2023
Educate
To provide with knowledge or training in a particular area or for a particular purpose
Decided to educate herself in foreign languages.
Entered a seminary to be educated for the priesthood.
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To give form or character to; imbue with a quality or an essence
"A society's strength is measured by ... its ability to inform a future generation with its moral standards" (Vanity Fair).
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Oct 19, 2023
Educate
To provide with information, as in an effort to gain support for a position or to influence behavior
Hoped to educate the voters about the need for increased spending on public schools.
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To be a formative or characterizing presence in; animate
"It is this brash, backroom sensibility that informs his work as a novelist" (Jeff Shear).
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To disclose confidential or incriminating information to an authority
The defendant informed against the other members of the ring.
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Oct 19, 2023
Educate
To bring up or guide the powers of, as a child; to develop and cultivate, whether physically, mentally, or morally, but more commonly limited to the mental activities or senses; to expand, strengthen, and discipline, as the mind, a faculty, etc.; to form and regulate the principles and character of; to prepare and fit for any calling or business by systematic instruction; to cultivate; to train; to instruct; as, to educate a child; to educate the eye or the taste.
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Oct 19, 2023
Educate
Create by training and teaching;
The old master is training world-class violinists
We develop the leaders for the future
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Oct 19, 2023
Educate
Train to be discriminative in taste or judgment;
Cultivate your musical taste
Train your tastebuds
She is well schooled in poetry
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
(transitive) To give form or character to; to inspire (with a given quality); to affect, influence (with a pervading principle, idea etc.).
His sense of religion informs everything he writes.
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To give form or share to; to give vital or organizing power to; to give life to; to imbue and actuate with vitality; to animate; to mold; to figure; to fashion.
Let others better mold the running massOf metals, and inform the breathing brass.
Breath informs this fleeting frame.
Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part.
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To communicate knowledge to; to make known to; to acquaint; to advise; to instruct; to tell; to notify; to enlighten; - usually followed by of.
For he would learn their business secretly,And then inform his master hastily.
I am informed thoroughly of the cause.
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To communicate a knowledge of facts to, by way of accusation; to warn against anybody.
Tertullus . . . informed the governor against Paul.
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To take form; to become visible or manifest; to appear.
It is the bloody business which informsThus to mine eyes.
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To give intelligence or information; to tell.
He might either teach in the same manner, or inform how he had been taught.
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
Impart knowledge of some fact, state or affairs, or event to;
I informed him of his rights
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
Give character or essence to;
The principles that inform modern teaching
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Oct 19, 2023
Inform
To give information or facts to someone.
The doctor informed the patient about the treatment options.
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Nov 12, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
What does it mean to educate someone?
To educate someone means to teach them, providing knowledge and understanding, often in a structured manner.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 12, 2023
Is informing always verbal?
No, informing can be done through various means, including written communication and visual media.
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Nov 12, 2023
Does educate imply formal instruction?
Educate often implies formal instruction but can also include informal methods of teaching.
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Nov 12, 2023
Can someone be informed without being educated?
Yes, one can be informed (given facts or data) without being educated (having understanding and knowledge).
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Nov 12, 2023
Can educating include moral education?
Yes, educating often includes moral and ethical teaching, beyond just intellectual knowledge.
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Nov 12, 2023
How is informing different from educating?
Informing is about relaying specific information or facts, whereas educating involves a deeper process of teaching and understanding.
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Nov 12, 2023
Is education a long-term process?
Education is typically a long-term process involving ongoing learning and development.
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Nov 12, 2023
Does informing require expertise?
Informing doesn't always require expertise, as it mainly involves relaying information.
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Nov 12, 2023
Can education change a person’s perspective?
Yes, education can significantly influence and change a person's perspective and understanding.
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Nov 12, 2023
Can education happen outside of schools?
Yes, education can happen in various settings, including informal life experiences.
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Nov 12, 2023
How does informing relate to news media?
Informing is a key function of news media, providing the public with facts and updates.
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Nov 12, 2023
Can education be self-directed?
Yes, education can be self-directed, where an individual takes charge of their own learning.
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Nov 12, 2023
Does informing imply a response or feedback?
Informing does not necessarily imply a need for response or feedback.
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Nov 12, 2023
Is education more about the process or outcome?
Education is about both the process of learning and the outcome of gained knowledge and understanding.
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Nov 12, 2023
Do both educate and inform involve communication?
Yes, both involve communication, but educate is more interactive and in-depth.
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Nov 12, 2023
Can misinformation occur in informing?
Yes, misinformation can occur if incorrect or misleading information is relayed.
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Nov 12, 2023
Is the goal of education just knowledge transfer?
No, the goal of education also includes developing understanding, skills, and values.
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Nov 12, 2023
Does informing require context?
While informing can benefit from context, it often involves straightforward facts or news.
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Nov 12, 2023
Is informing a part of educating?
Informing can be a component of the broader process of educating.
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Nov 12, 2023
Are educators and informers interchangeable roles?
Not exactly; educators are involved in a more comprehensive teaching process, while informers primarily provide specific information.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 12, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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