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
Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 June 2026
As protests raged outside banks, leading pundits and politicians suggested ceding power to the President to restore order.
—Sarita Gupta, Time, 2 June 2026
Harris and Newsom are the presumptive leading contenders for the 2028 Democratic nomination, according to polls and pundits.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 1 June 2026
And there are pundits from both sides arguing for and against these choices on every available platform.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 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 5 Jun. 2026.
Copy Citation
