as in scholarly
marked by or given to showing knowledge in a showy way
The writer apparently thought using a bunch of inkhorn terms would impress the reader and distract from the severely lacking plot.
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inkhorn
Adjective
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The class spans 55 scholarly disciplines and artistic fields, with fellows chosen from a pool of nearly 5,000 applicants.—
Harrison Jacobs,
ARTnews.com,
14 Apr. 2026 -
However, these writings circulated largely within scholarly circles.—
Anna Piela,
The Conversation,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Schools across the Emirates were shuttered for weeks after the war began, shifting students to remote learning, prompting some parents, who CNBC has spoken with since the war began, to send children back to their home countries to complete the academic term at schools teaching in-person.—
Emma Graham,Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2026
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The distinction is more than an academic nicety.—
Nikhil Krishnan,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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When not identified early, this can potentially derail a student’s scholastic trajectory from the very first days of school.—
Sherri Helvie,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Fugard lets his scholastic streak drive a good deal of the conversation.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The trio, and others in their intellectual circle, share a few radical views.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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There are moments when the book, in defending Giacometti, seems to overburden his oeuvre with an exponential set of aesthetic, intellectual, and political problems, from resolving the tensions between modernism and the avant-garde to a singular working through of national trauma.—
Ara H. Merjian,
ARTnews.com,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The problem with buying a striker from a team in Portugal is — to be a little pedantic — not that the Portuguese top flight is weak.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
4 Mar. 2026
-
They were organized and well led by guides who were always clearly spoken, professional, and responsive to questions (if sometimes a tad pedantic in their fact-sharing).—
Alex Postman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Inkhorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inkhorn. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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