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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
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
The poll had Becerra tied at 18% support at the top of the field with Republican Steve Hilton, a Fox News pundit.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 7 May 2026
While Republican lawmakers appeared to steer clear of criticizing their Democratic counterpart over the remarks, some pundits jumped to his defense.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 6 May 2026
A lot of draft pundits, including at The Athletic, have maneuvered a handful of defensemen inside their top six all year, along with McKenna and Stenberg.
—Scott Powers, New York Times, 6 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 13 May. 2026.
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