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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in boring
causing weariness or lack of interest
I found the author's writing informative but dreadfully pedantic.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
The firm also is known for its academic research and scholarly publications.—
Anthony DeMarco,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
-
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
-
Then Saturday, Columbus sputtered to a disappointing (and boring) scoreless draw at home against the Houston Dynamo, one of the weakest MLS teams.—
Andrew King,
Axios,
11 Mar. 2025
-
Literature that doesn’t contain its own version of this deal—literature that tries to freeze-frame reality instead of transmuting it—is often boring, even alienating.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Studies have shown that less than 30 percent of the U.S. public is scientifically literate.—
Marshall Shepherd,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
-
The bottom line: Football and books — the recipe for a more learned and literate America.—
Isaac Avilucea,
Axios,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Follow the money: The stock market, for one, is tiring of such shenanigans.—
Felix Salmon,
Axios,
7 Mar. 2025
-
In Aurora, voters seem to be tiring of two-term incumbent Republican Richard Irvin, who was the top vote getter but got just 38%.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
The fight was very dull and Ankalaev most held his way to the victory.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
-
Without their alternate selves to tug at them, these characters would be dull, dull, dull.—
Katy Waldman,
The New Yorker,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
The folding of cerebral tissue is one of the brain’s most distinctive features.—
Tom Hawking,
Popular Science,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
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 15 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share