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
Clayton Davis, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
Gallup has been publishing its presidential approval tracking numbers for 88 years, and the numbers have long been among the most closely watched by political pundits.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2026
Regis touts endorsements from Democratic strategist and former Tribune reporter David Axelrod and the lawyer-pundit Van Jones.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
Journalists and pundits tend to throw around plaudits a little too carelessly these days.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 10 Feb. 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 12 Feb. 2026.
Copy Citation
