Did you know?
It’s no hot take to say that the original pundits were highly learned scholars and teachers in India; it’s just a statement of fact. Our English word pundit comes from the Hindi word paṇḍit, a term of respect (and sometimes an honorary title) for a wise person, especially one with knowledge of philosophy, religion, and law; its ultimate source is the Sanskrit word paṇḍita, meaning “learned.” English speakers have used pundit to refer to sages of India since the 1600s, but as is typically done with English, they eventually pushed the word into new semantic territory. By the late 1800s, pundit could also refer to a member of what is sometimes called the commentariat or punditocracy—that is, the collective group of political commentators, financial analysts, and newspaper columnists often paid to share their views on a variety of subjects.
Examples of pundit in a Sentence
Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Politicians, pundits and ordinary Americans are increasingly worried about political violence.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 12 May 2026
Retiring from soccer in 2000, Wright became one of its leading pundits.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 12 May 2026
Following Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in De Zerbi’s first game in charge, television pundit Jamie Carragher criticised their central midfield.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pundit
Cite this Entry
“Pundit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pundit. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
Copy Citation
