From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishedifyed‧i‧fy /ˈedɪfaɪ/ verb (edified, edifying, edifies) [transitive] formalSETEACH to improve someone’s mind or character by teaching them something SYN enlighten —edification /ˌedɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ noun [uncountable] For our edification, the preacher reminded us what ‘duty’ meant.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
edify• I've had to edit ten years of your memories, a lot of which weren't edifying.• The arts, in short, were pleasant and edifying if not quite essential.• The movie neither edifies nor entertains its viewers.• The corporate form has always been in ceaseless conflict with the edifying spirit of man.• It does not matter whether the purpose is to educate or edify, to corrupt or simply to make money.• It was edifying to see how much excitement Ibrahim and the band could generate without shouting.• No doubt in time Hamish will edify us on the subject of bastardised Corbetts.Origin edify (1300-1400) French édifier, from Latin aedificare “to build a house”, from aedes “house” 