scholastic

American  

[skuh-las-tik] / skəˈlæs tɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to schools, scholars, or education.

   scholastic attainments.

2. of or relating to secondary education or schools.

   a scholastic meet.

3. pedantic.

4. of or relating to the medieval schoolmen.

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noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a schoolman, a disciple of the schoolmen, or an adherent of scholasticism.

2. a pedantic person.

3. Roman Catholic Church. a student in a scholasticate.

scholastic British  

/ skəˈlæstɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or befitting schools, scholars, or education

2. pedantic or precise

3. (often capital) characteristic of or relating to the medieval Schoolmen

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noun

1. a student or pupil

2. a person who is given to quibbling or logical subtleties; pedant

3. (often capital) a disciple or adherent of scholasticism; Schoolman

4. 1. a Jesuit student who is undergoing a period of probation prior to commencing his theological studies

   2. the status and position of such a student

5. a formalist in art

Other Word Forms

• antischolastic
  adjective
• hyperscholastic
  adjective
• nonscholastic
  adjective
• nonscholastical
  adjective
• postscholastic
  adjective
• prescholastic
  adjective
• proscholastic
  adjective
• pseudoscholastic
  adjective
• quasi-scholastic
  adjective
• semischolastic
  adjective
• unscholastic
  adjective
• antischolastically
  adverb
• hyperscholastically
  adverb
• nonscholastically
  adverb
• pseudoscholastically
  adverb
• quasi-scholastically
  adverb
• scholastically
  adverb
• semischolastically
  adverb
• unscholastically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of scholastic

1590–1600; < Latin scholasticus < Greek scholastikós studious, learned, derivative of scholázein to be at leisure to study. See school ¹, -tic

Explanation

Something that's scholastic has to do with schools or learning. If you brag about your town's scholastic excellence, you mean that you've got great schools. When your school principal talks about scholastic achievement, she's discussing the grades and test scores of her students, and if you referred to your own scholastic challenges, you probably mean the subjects you find the most difficult in school. One well-known U.S. college entrance exam is the SAT, which was originally an acronym for Scholastic Aptitude Test. The word is from the Latin scholasticus, "of a school," with the Greek root skholastikos, "devoting one's leisure to learning."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scholastic

In the age of Name, Image and Likeness compensation, the result is a first-of-its-kind high-school transfer portal that some insiders warn may be the future of scholastic sports in America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

Fugard lets his scholastic streak drive a good deal of the conversation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

Chait missed his calling as a medieval scholastic agonizing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2024

The amendment was extended to scholastic sports in 1979.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 3, 2023

In 1630 Thomas Hobbes, who had received a conventional humanistic and scholastic education at Oxford, came across a copy of Euclid’s Elements ‘in a gentleman’s library’ in Geneva.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• learned
• scholarly