Uninstructiveness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A lack of guidance or teaching that results in insufficient educational value
2. the quality of being ineffective in providing necessary information or learning
3. an absence of clarity or direction that leaves individuals without the knowledge needed to progress

Etymology: "Uninstructiveness" is a plain formation: "uninstructive" with the suffix "-ness" attached. The base word "instructive" comes from "instruct," which traces back through Latin "instructus," the past participle of "instruere," meaning "to build, equip, or arrange." The sense of teaching came from the idea of equipping a mind with knowledge, as one might equip a structure with its parts. The prefix "un-" reverses the quality, and "-ness" turns the adjective into a noun naming the state or quality of being that way. So the word denotes the condition of a text, lesson, or experience that fails to teach much. Its meaning is built entirely from these transparent parts, with no change in sense along the way.