educating

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of educate.

   Educating a child takes patience and steady effort.

   The museum is committed to educating visitors about ocean life.

   Note

   The -ing form of a transitive verb, so it keeps its object in both of its jobs. After be it builds the progressive (she is educating new staff). As a gerund it heads a noun phrase that still takes a direct object, just as a finite verb would (educating children is slow work). Without an object, it may have crossed into the adjective meaning "educational".

2. 2
   adjectiverare

   Serving to educate; providing knowledge or instruction.

   The exhibit proved unexpectedly educating, leaving visitors with a new grasp of marine biology.

   Her column is consistently educating without ever feeling like a lecture.

   Similarinstructive, informative, enlightening, illuminating, edifying

   Note

   A rare adjective that stands beside the everyday educational, which is usually the safer choice in writing. You can tell this use from the verb by position and grading. It follows seem or proved, takes very or quite, and has no object after it (a surprisingly educating afternoon). If someone is being taught in the sentence, the word is still the verb.

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