pedagogical
adjective
-ˈgō-
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Pedagogical, Pedagogy, and Pedagogue
Pedagogical and its cognates present us with an excellent example of how different words can come from the same root, retain closely related meanings, and yet take on distinctive connotations. Pedagogical, pedagogy, and pedagogue all come from the Greek paidagōgos, originally the word for an enslaved person who brought children to school. But while pedagogical and pedagogy have meanings simply related to education, teaching, or teachers (with no implied judgment), pedagogue has taken on a negative tone, often referring to a dull or overly formal teacher. A similar transformation has taken place with many of the pedant- words in English. Pedant originally denoted simply "a tutor," but now tends to mean "one who makes a show of knowledge." Pedantic formerly meant "relating to teaching," but now is more commonly used to mean "unimaginative or dull."
Examples of pedagogical in a Sentence
Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 22 Oct. 2025
This collaboration spurred me to reflect on college newspapers and my own pedagogical approach as a librarian to media literacy.
—Joshua Finnell, JSTOR Daily, 1 Oct. 2025
A feast for the eyes without being pedagogical, the show benefits from contextualizing Abloh’s work in what is now starting to feel like recent history.
—Amy Verner, Vogue, 30 Sep. 2025
But most of the podcast’s lineup reflects his pedagogical aims.
—Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedagogical
Cite this Entry
“Pedagogical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedagogical. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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