pedantic
Americanadjective
-
ostentatious in one's learning.
-
overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching.
- Synonyms:
- doctrinaire, didactic
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pedantic
Explanation
There's nothing wrong with focusing on the details, but someone who is pedantic makes a big display of knowing obscure facts and details. Pedantic means "like a pedant," someone who's too concerned with literal accuracy or formality. It's a negative term that implies someone is showing off book learning or trivia, especially in a tiresome way. You don't want to go antique-shopping with a pedantic friend, who will use the opportunity to bore you with his in-depth knowledge of 18th-century porcelain kitty-litter boxes.
Vocabulary lists containing pedantic
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pedantic jobsworths are like people who eat and talk at the same time: it’s better to stand by their side than face them head on.
From The Guardian • Jul. 30, 2014
Pedantic Brahms would raise an eyebrow at Ormandy's changes of tempo, but he would find it pretty good music just the same.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Holmesy, someday you’re going to win the Nobel Prize for Being Incredibly Pedantic, and I’m going to be so proud of you.”
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
Pedantic child that he was, when he thought of the beauty of woman, he thought only of Helen of Troy.
From Three Philosophical Poets Lucretius, Dante, and Goethe by Santayana, George
Rubbish," said the little man, "Pedantic rot!—the tree's me, I repeat.
From Fairy Tales from the German Forests by Arndt, Margaret
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
