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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Recent Examples of pedantic
The primary impact was to tournament players and to the pedantic rule grammar police.
—
Todd Boss, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
My goal is always to do it not in a preachy, pedantic way [but] just to explore these topics through personal stories and journeys by the people who are the most deeply impacted by them.
—Sunil Sadarangani, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2025
In Korea and Vietnam, the Soviet Union and its partners stalled negotiations, insisting on the most pedantic points, accusing the U.S. of bad faith, and starting with outlandish demands that, if the U.S. were to satisfy them, would have amounted to capitulation.
—Niall Ferguson, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024
The 63-page booklet was classic Sinclair: heartfelt, pedantic and too ahead of its time for its own good.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pedantic
Todd Boss, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
My goal is always to do it not in a preachy, pedantic way [but] just to explore these topics through personal stories and journeys by the people who are the most deeply impacted by them.
—Sunil Sadarangani, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2025
In Korea and Vietnam, the Soviet Union and its partners stalled negotiations, insisting on the most pedantic points, accusing the U.S. of bad faith, and starting with outlandish demands that, if the U.S. were to satisfy them, would have amounted to capitulation.
—Niall Ferguson, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024
The 63-page booklet was classic Sinclair: heartfelt, pedantic and too ahead of its time for its own good.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pedantic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pedantic
Adjective
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The firm also is known for its academic research and scholarly publications.—
Anthony DeMarco,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
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All this has left many faculty members feeling beside the point, especially in pursuits like chemistry, classics, English, government, or law—five scholarly fields that together produced every Harvard president of the twentieth century.—
Nathan Heller,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The whole thing also looks pretty—budget and midrange phones tend to be super boring, but the Pixel 8A has a smart design with a matte rear texture.—
Julian Chokkattu,
WIRED,
28 Feb. 2025
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Buck is a loquacious, glad-handing oaf who has a boring way with a witty story, and is marked for death.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Studies have shown that less than 30 percent of the U.S. public is scientifically literate.—
Marshall Shepherd,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
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The bottom line: Football and books — the recipe for a more learned and literate America.—
Isaac Avilucea,
Axios,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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This Atlético Madrid side is going from strength to strength and is showing little sign of tiring even as the pressure heats up.—
Sam Leveridge,
Forbes,
21 Dec. 2024
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The first few years of being a parent can be among the most tiring as moms and dads try and often fail to get infants into a regular routine of unbroken sleep at night.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Put differently, intelligent onboarding can enable financial service providers to reach thin-file and difficult-to-identify demographics while reducing dropout rates.—
James Bruni,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
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What’s more, Asian elephants are highly social, highly intelligent, and endangered, raising intractable ethical obstacles to experimenting on them.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The fight was very dull and Ankalaev most held his way to the victory.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
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Without their alternate selves to tug at them, these characters would be dull, dull, dull.—
Katy Waldman,
The New Yorker,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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If Santo Stefano is cerebral, Santa Sabina is ethereal — as iridescent as a soap bubble but as solid as stone.—
The New York Times,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Mar. 2025
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The folding of cerebral tissue is one of the brain’s most distinctive features.—
Tom Hawking,
Popular Science,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Costumes are one way that information about characters can be conveyed to an audience without being overly didactic.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
-
More emotional scenes, however, feel hammy and didactic, heavy on the telling over the showing (and that telling hinges on being damn blunt about the whole thing, to boot).—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
19 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to pedantic
Cite this Entry
“Pedantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pedantic. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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