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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
David Daley, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
The mention of a lawsuit over what appears to be minor snow coverage prompted skepticism from many pundits, many of whom viewed the situation as exaggerated.
—Darlin Tillery, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
That’s just what MAGA pundit Megyn Kelly did.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2026
That is why millions of Americans, and many policy planners, pundits and newspaper editorial writers, support an increase to the wage base.
—Tom Margenau, Dallas Morning News, 29 Mar. 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 4 Apr. 2026.
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