pedant

as in teacher
disapproving a person who annoys other people by correcting small errors and giving too much attention to minor details They found the professor to be a dull pedant more concerned with the intricacies of punctuation than the craft of writing.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pedant As botanists and pedants will tell you, figs are technically a flower, not a fruit. Emily Saladino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Sep. 2025 Incidentally, for the pedants out there (WIRED salutes you), technically this is not a jet ski, but a personal watercraft, or PWC. WIRED, 18 Nov. 2023 As knowledge of Greek has become more exotic—the mark of pedants, nerds, and graduates of expensive schools—capturing the barbarism of ancient Greek, and of the ancient Greeks themselves, has become harder. Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2023 Want to annoy an investing pedant? Spencer Jakab, WSJ, 13 Feb. 2023 True, big global history is not for pedants and must be selective to remain accessible. Walter Scheidel, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022 The highest-energy moment comes when Rob Brydon and David Mitchell have a pedant off about Jeremy Clarkson’s firing. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Jan. 2022 While its sister show Jeopardy is better known as a pedant's paradise (misspeaking or misspelling has long been known to sink contestants), every now and then Wheel of Fortune gets in on the action. Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pedant
Noun
  • During a soft lockdown, the school’s teachers are asked to check the hallways for staff and students before locking doors and windows.
    Daniel S. Levine, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Its most passionate and informed teachers, current and former players say, usually aren’t assistant coaches in an NFL building but players.
    Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The instructor’s compensation is far from unusual for them.
    Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The 65-year-old exercise instructor and fitness personality didn’t rely on gimmicks to get Mel Owen’s attention.
    Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Pedant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pedant. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

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