pundit

American  

[puhn-dit] / ˈpʌn dɪt /

noun

1. a learned person, expert, or authority.

   This pundit's formal instruction in history, philosophy, and political science prepared her for activism in many campaigns.

   Synonyms:

   savant, guru, sage

2. a person who makes comments or judgments, especially in an authoritative manner; critic or commentator.

   Opinions masquerade as news, while ill-informed pundits and vested interests cloud the issues and bend the truth into pretzels.

3. pandit.

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pundit British  

/ ˈpʌndɪt /

noun

1. an expert

2. (formerly) a learned person

3. Also called: pandit.  a Brahman learned in Sanskrit and, esp in Hindu religion, philosophy or law

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Pronunciation

See tenet ( def. ).

Other Word Forms

• punditic adjective
• punditically adverb

Etymology

Origin of pundit

First recorded in 1665–75; from Hindi paṇḍit, from Sanskrit paṇḍita “learned man” (noun), “learned” (adjective); of uncertain origin; perhaps akin to prajñā́ “knowledge” ( pro ¹ ( def. ), know ¹ ( def. ) )

Example Sentences

Nanos’s decision to declare the crime scene at Guthrie’s home “done” so early in the investigation has drawn criticism from armchair pundits and former law-enforcement officials.

From The Wall Street Journal

Political pundits predict a three horse race between Labour, Green and Reform.

From BBC

None of the team were born in Italy and their participation at the T20 World Cup was questioned by some pundits.

From Barron's

As to the challenge of ushering Intuit into a new era where pundits question whether AI could displace the entire concept of software-as-a-service?

From The Wall Street Journal

He was not the only pundit to comment on Hearts' below-par performance.

From BBC

Related Words

• buff
• cognoscenti
• expert
• intellectual
• philosopher
• professor
• scholar
• thinker