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British

pedantic

[ puh-dan-tik ]

/ pəˈdæn tɪk /

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See synonyms for pedantic on Thesaurus.com

adjective

ostentatious in one's learning.

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

OTHER WORDS FOR pedantic

2 didactic, doctrinaire.

See synonyms for pedantic on Thesaurus.com

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Also Archaic, pe·dan·ti·cal .

Origin of pedantic

First recorded in 1590–1600; pedant + -ic

OTHER WORDS FROM pedantic

pe·dan·ti·cal·ly, adverbpe·dan·ti·cal·ness, nounsem·i·pe·dan·tic, adjectivesem·i·pe·dan·ti·cal, adjective

sem·i·pe·dan·ti·cal·ly, adverbun·pe·dan·tic, adjectiveun·pe·dan·ti·cal, adjective

Words nearby pedantic

pedal piano, pedal point, pedal pushers, pedal steel guitar, pedant, pedantic, pedanticism, pedantry, pedate, pedatifid, Ped.D.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use pedantic in a sentence

These details can sound pedantic, but they can make a huge difference in day-to-day use.
The best battery backups to keep your gear up and running|Terry Sullivan|September 10, 2021|Popular-Science
The pedantic scholars among us might wonder if the book does its job.
Are You There, Nobody? It’s Me, Margaret|Candida Moss|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The pedantic type might note that Hippolytus makes no prophetic mention of the cinema or the Internet.
St. Hippolytus’ Careers Christians Should Never Have|Candida Moss|May 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The drinks here, like the Blackwatch (with Johnny Walker Black, creme de cassis, and Becherovka), are far from pedantic.
New York City’s Best New Hotspots This Spring|Sara Sayed, Valeriya Safronova|April 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The problem was that Sorkin did too much (pedantic, predictable) telling and not enough showing.
‘The Newsroom’ Season 2 Premiere: How Aaron Sorkin Saved the HBO Drama|Andrew Romano|July 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Her perfection can sometimes verge on pedantic, like with her conversion to veganism.
Everybody Hates Natalie|Joyce C. Tang|March 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Pedantic, unimaginative and presumptuous, Theobald was the logical choice for a Dunce King in 1728.
A Letter from Mr. Cibber to Mr. Pope|Colley Cibber
A pedantic fellow called for a bottle of hock at a tavern, which the waiter, not hearing distinctly, asked him to repeat.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
He is no longer pedantic; he no longer makes vulgar allusions, but only fears that they might be made.
Samuel Richardson's Introduction to Pamela|Samuel Richardson
The ages in which they flourished attached no value to pedantic displays of learning paraded in foot-notes.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I|John Lord
There was Sir James Smith, the botanist, made much of and really not pedantic and vulgar like the rest, but weak and irritable.
East Anglia|J. Ewing Ritchie

British Dictionary definitions for pedantic

pedantic

/ (pɪˈdæntɪk) /

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by pedantry

Derived forms of pedantic

pedantically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012