"instruct" definition, meaning, and origin

Adjective

Arranged; furnished; provided.
- For he had neither ship, instruct with oares, Nor men to fetch him from those stranger shores. - c. 1615, George Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses, London: Nathaniell Butter, Book 4, p. 62:
Instructed; taught; enlightened.
- Who ever by consulting at thy shrine Return’d the wiser, or the more instruct To flye or follow what concern’d him most, And run not sooner to his fatal snare? - 1671, John Milton, Paradise Regained, London: John...

From Latin īnstrūctus, perfect passive participle of īnstruō (“I instruct; I arrange, furnish, or provide”).

To teach by giving instructions.
- Listen carefully when someone instructs you how to assemble the furniture.
- Supply me with the habit and instruct me How I may formally in person bear me Like a true friar. - c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies,...
- What a dishonour’s this, to me, to have so Dull a Father, that needs to be instructed in his Duty. - 1682, Aphra Behn, The False Count, London: Jacob Tonson, act III, scene 2, page 33:
Synonyms: educate guide
To tell (someone) what they must or should do.
- Usage note: "instruct" is less forceful than "order", but weightier than "advise"
- The doctor instructed me to keep my arm immobilised and begin physiotherapy.
- What, shall a child instruct you what to do? - 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […]...
Synonyms: command direct order
To give (one's own lawyer) legal instructions as to how they should act in relation to a particular issue; thereby formally appointing them as one's own legal representative in relation to it.
- If you're not careful, I'm going to instruct a solicitor over this.