pedantic

Archaic, pe·dan·ti·cal

[puh-dan-tik]

adjective

1. ostentatious in one's learning.

2. overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching.

   Synonyms: doctrinaire, didactic

pedantic

/ pɪˈdæntɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by pedantry

Other Word Forms

• pedantically adverb
• pedanticalness noun
• semipedantic adjective
• semipedantical adjective
• semipedantically adverb
• unpedantic adjective
• unpedantical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pedantic¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; pedant + -ic

Example Sentences

And the percentage of gold in the portfolio is always fixed at 1/7 — or, if you are pedantic, 14.29%.

Read more on MarketWatch

None of this is pedantic, nor is it puffed up with moral outrage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Nelis renders the professor a pompous and pedantic twit but not a heartless one.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Environmental films that are pedantic, prescriptive, or hold audiences by the collar to make them feel bad do more disservice than good, he says.

Read more on BBC

It's told in a joke, so it makes the point without being pedantic about it or anything like that.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• abstruse 
• pompous 
• stilted