1
as in scholarly
marked by or given to showing knowledge in a showy way
The writing was overly complex and pedantic, which made it nearly impossible to understand for anyone but a specialist. The speech was thoroughly researched and well structured, but too pedantic to appeal to a general audience.
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2
as in boring
causing weariness or lack of interest
I found the author's writing informative but dreadfully pedantic.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pedantic
Newsweek Sports quoted Bruckheimer's statements, highlighting Hamilton's pedantic approach while filming.
—
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Nelis renders the professor a pompous and pedantic twit but not a heartless one.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
The inspiring leader is a big-picture optimist while the infuriating leader a pedantic pessimist.
—Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
The point was not the pedantic collection of information.
—Sheila Heti, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedantic
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Nelis renders the professor a pompous and pedantic twit but not a heartless one.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
The inspiring leader is a big-picture optimist while the infuriating leader a pedantic pessimist.
—Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
The point was not the pedantic collection of information.
—Sheila Heti, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedantic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pedantic
Adjective
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The critics were not defending scholarly standards, but their exclusive claim to setting those standards.—
Ilya Shapiro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
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But that belies a scholarly understanding of Italian cooking history, techniques and terminology, and a serious competitor.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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The parasites get their names from the larvae, which look and act like screws, boring and twisting into their victim's flesh.—
Jon Brodkin,
ArsTechnica,
25 Aug. 2025
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In the early episodes, when everyone’s still getting to know each other, are the conversations boring?—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
To become literate is, therefore, to grasp the deeper meaning of the object of study, to evaluate it critically and to interact actively with it.—
Nino Letteriello,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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And even at the bigger firms top decision makers often aren’t literate in the language of climate risk.—
Justin Worland,
Time,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Superman’s meh international returns can also be understood as reflective of the worldwide audience tiring of Hollywood’s cultural diktats.—
Chris Lee,
Vulture,
6 Aug. 2025
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With both sets of players tiring, the best chance of the 30-minute period would fall to substitute Salma Paralluelo, who could not divert Batlle’s cross towards goal from four yards out.—
Jamie Barton,
CNN Money,
27 July 2025
Adjective
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Across a wide network, each unit can become intelligent by deploying state-of-the-art technologies and AI, but also by gaining easy access to insights from more successful locations.—
Andrei Danescu,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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The scaling hypothesis—the belief that bigger models will produce more intelligent outputs—seems to rest on the dubious belief that a system that has been fed enough information about the world will not have to deal with fuzziness.—
Meghan O’Gieblyn,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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And so to their kits, which more often than not are just not especially interesting: take this away strip, with its mid-2000s retro styling and pleasant off-white piping, but is just…quite dull.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
24 Aug. 2025
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Harsh chemicals like bleach and ammonia can strip the finish and dull the surface, leaving the floor prone to scratches and other damage.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The result is a slowly shifting kaleidoscope of bright, consonant sound, which, with its pointed title, easily digestible concept, and improvisatory spirit, was also a rejection of the cerebral atonality then in vogue.—
William Robin,
New Yorker,
26 Aug. 2025
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Although the man was brain-dead after experiencing a cerebral hemorrhage, the lung survived for nine days.—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This is work that adamantly refuses to instruct or be didactic.—
Nargess Banks,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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At the level of craft, writers and executive producers Fellowes and Sonja Warfield didn’t feel the need to get didactic in the script.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pedantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pedantic. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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