1
as in scholarly
marked by or given to showing knowledge in a showy way
The writing was overly complex and pedantic, which made it nearly impossible to understand for anyone but a specialist. The speech was thoroughly researched and well structured, but too pedantic to appeal to a general audience.
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2
as in boring
causing weariness or lack of interest
I found the author's writing informative but dreadfully pedantic.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pedantic
None of this is pedantic, nor is it puffed up with moral outrage.
—
Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2025
Newsweek Sports quoted Bruckheimer's statements, highlighting Hamilton's pedantic approach while filming.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
The inspiring leader is a big-picture optimist while the infuriating leader a pedantic pessimist.
—Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
The point was not the pedantic collection of information.
—Sheila Heti, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedantic
Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2025
Newsweek Sports quoted Bruckheimer's statements, highlighting Hamilton's pedantic approach while filming.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
The inspiring leader is a big-picture optimist while the infuriating leader a pedantic pessimist.
—Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
The point was not the pedantic collection of information.
—Sheila Heti, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedantic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pedantic
Adjective
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As astronomy embraced mathematics and observation during the Scientific Revolution, astrology increasingly lost its scholarly legitimacy and was pushed to the margins.—
Christopher P. Scheitle,
The Conversation,
5 Sep. 2025
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Joshi says teachers also tend to be a vocal crowd that isn’t shy about sharing their scholarly opinions.—
John Kell,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Historically, tracking demand for electricity was a boring task marked by little to no change.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
4 Sep. 2025
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Uranus has already been demanding freedom in your day-to-day, pushing you to ditch boring structures.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The tale Hero mostly tells is one of three beautiful sisters, the daughters of a merchant, who form a secret society of literate women who collect and record stories.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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Add a deal literate accountant who can tie financials to the story.—
Lien De Pau,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The routine can be tiring because both are raising young children.—
Sophie Carson,
jsonline.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Since travel can be tiring, Candow doubles his dose to 20 grams to counter jet lag from international trips.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Together, these agents represent an intelligent, adaptive defense system comparable to the collaboration of a human security operations center, but with the speed and scale of machines.—
Perry Carpenter,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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And his evocation of the specific political environment of pre-war Algeria is an intelligent contemporary expansion on the novel.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Horror of this scale has the effect of deadening words, making stories of the most unimaginable violence land with a dull thud.—
Jack Sheehan
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
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The water wasn’t quite as hot as the Braun, and the coffee was just a hair duller in taste.—
Noah Kaufman,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Bouton was finally given the green light after a round of tests and X-rays in February confirmed the improved condition of her spine and an MRI revealed less cerebral fluid near her spine.—
Dave Melton,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, Voisin gives a cerebral performance of a man who occupies and contributes to a thrillingly tactile space while his antennae are attuned to another realm entirely.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Such subtlety may not necessarily be what readers—perhaps American readers, in particular—expect from political fiction, which can have a reputation for being didactic and heavy-handed, designed to beat readers over the head, as if anything political were made in the mode of Soviet realism.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
5 Sep. 2025
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At the level of craft, writers and executive producers Fellowes and Sonja Warfield didn’t feel the need to get didactic in the script.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pedantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pedantic. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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