educe

e·duce
E1D2U1C3E1
US/ɪˈduːs/US/ə-/UK/ɪˈdjuːs/

verb

To direct the course of (a flow, journey etc.); to lead in a particular direction.

Similar
evokeelicitextractdraw outderive
OriginLatin ēdūcere →
First used 15th c.Scrabble 8
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Meanings

verbeduce (third-person singular simple present educes, present participle educing, simple past and past participle educed)

present singular third person educes · participle present educing · participle past educed · past educed

  1. archaictransitiveTo direct the course of (a flow, journey etc.); to lead in a particular direction.First known use 15th c.
  2. transitiveTo infer or deduce (a result, theory etc.) from existing data or premises.First known use 16th c.
  3. transitiveTo draw out or bring forth from some basic or potential state; to elicit, to develop.First known use 17th c.

    The justice of God may be vindicated by a belief in a future state; but, only by believing that evil is educing good for the individual, and not for an imaginary whole.

    1790, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Men
  4. transitivechemistryTo isolate (a substance) from a compound; to extract.First known use 17th c.
  5. transitiveTo cause or generate; to bring about.First known use 19th c.
noun
  1. An inference.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbdeduce (a principle) or construe (a meaning)

Similar
evokeelicitextractdraw out
Broader
interpretconstruesee

verbdevelop or evolve from a latent or potential state

Similar
derive
Broader
makecreate
Also see
derivedraw outelicitevokeextractinfer

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinēdūcere“lead out, raise up”
  2. Englisheduce

Borrowed from Latin ēdūcere (“lead out, raise up”); from ex- (“out, up”) + dūcō (“lead, pull”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian заключавам, извличам
  • заключавам (zaključavam)to infer, deduce
  • извличам (izvličam)draw out, bring forth; elicit
Catalan eduir
  • eduirto infer, deduce
Czech vyvodit, odvodit
  • vyvoditto infer, deduce
  • odvoditto infer, deduce
  • vydobýtdraw out, bring forth; elicit
Dutch deduceren, afleiden
  • deducerento infer, deduce
  • afleidento infer, deduce
  • opmakento infer, deduce
  • oproependraw out, bring forth; elicit
Spanish educir, educir
  • educirto infer, deduce
  • educirdraw out, bring forth; elicit

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with educe

usereduceabuseproducebruceintroducelooseexcusereproducereusegoosemisuseinducespruceRusdiffuseZeusdeucetrucelucemoussededuceseduceoveruse
All rhymes →

Anagrams

deuce
Cite this entry
APA

educe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/educe

MLA

“educe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/educe. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “educe,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/educe.

Source: educe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.