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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Until now, the consensus scholarly view has held that collards came to the Americas early in the 16th century with Spanish, Portuguese or English Europeans, who introduced collards as a garden plant that was then taken up by enslaved Africans.—
Abderrahim Ouarghidi,
The Conversation,
13 Mar. 2025
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The following reading list offers an initial primer on some of the major scholarly trends in the vibrant history of natural history.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Transform boring tasks into challenges with stakes, rewards, and achievements.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
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Broberg’s heartbreaking overtime winner Some overtimes are boring, with teams methodically regrouping.—
Harman Dayal,
The Athletic,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Reading isn’t hard-coded into our genome, like the capacity for speech is, and until recently, only a small minority of humans were literate.—
Celia Ford,
Vox,
10 Mar. 2025
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Today, few Americans—even few historians—could describe the ins and outs of the case, but in the forties almost any literate American could have told the tale.—
Beverly Gage,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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While squatting is a relatively rare problem at the national level, the issue has gotten more attention over the past year—and can be extremely tiring and stressful for property owners.—
Anders Fogh Rasmussen,
Newsweek,
4 Feb. 2025
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Kraft likes taking big swings, but after tiring of Belichick’s autocratic approach, his priority for the 2024 season was simply regaining control of his franchise.—
Mike Sando,
The Athletic,
6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
People have been dreaming about intelligent humanoid robots since the introduction of the beloved family maid Rosey on The Jetsons in the early 1960s.—
Jim McGregor,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
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Beyond being intelligent, ethical, musically talented, and dedicated; Emily is a true arts-passionate individual.—
Heide Janssen,
Orange County Register,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The main romance is dull, but there’s plenty of fun slapstick and creative set-pieces in John Hughes’ script to make up for it.—
Barry Levitt,
TIME,
21 Mar. 2025
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Over time, excessive stimulation can lead to dysregulation of the reward system, making routine activities feel dull in comparison.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Kearney suffered a cerebral arteriovenous malformation on Jan. 8.—
Mike Barnes,
The Hollywood Reporter,
14 Mar. 2025
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Guild’s Jonathan Larson Musical Theater Fellowship and the vice president of the advocacy group Black Broadway Men United, died Thursday, March 6, at a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, of complications from a cerebral arteriovenous malformation.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The original series found a way to achieve that: Slick, attractive characters delivered crisp legal jargon without coming off overly didactic.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2025
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Perhaps that sounds didactic; rest assured that her novels foreground richly specific narratives about individual characters.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
14 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pedantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pedantic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
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