edifying

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

edifying
    adj 1: enlightening or uplifting so as to encourage intellectual
           or moral improvement; "the paintings in the church served
           an edifying purpose even for those who could not read"
           [syn: {edifying}, {enlightening}] [ant: {unedifying},
           {unenlightening}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Edifying \Ed"i*fy`ing\, a.
   Instructing; improving; as, an edifying conversation. --
   {Ed"i*fy`ing*ly}, adv. -- {Ed"i*fy`ing*ness}, n.
   [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Edify \Ed"i*fy\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Edified}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Edifying}.] [F. ['e]difier, L. aedificare; aedes a building,
   house, orig., a fireplace (akin to Gr. ? to burn, Skr. idh to
   kindle, OHG. eit funeral pile, AS. [=a]d, OIr. aed fire) +
   facere to make. See {Fact}, {-fy}.]
   1. To build; to construct. [Archaic]
      [1913 Webster]

            There was a holy chapel edified.      --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious
      knowledge; to teach.
      [1913 Webster]

            It does not appear probable that our dispute [about
            miracles] would either edify or enlighten the
            public.                               --Gibbon.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To teach or persuade. [Obs.] --Bacon.
      [1913 Webster]

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

24 Moby Thesaurus words for "edifying":
      autodidactic, coeducational, cultural, didactic, disciplinary,
      educating, educational, educative, enlightening, exhortatory,
      homiletic, hortatory, illuminating, informative, initiatory,
      instructive, introductory, lecturing, preaching, preceptive,
      propaedeutic, self-teaching, teaching, tuitionary