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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
as in boring
causing weariness or lack of interest
I found the author's writing informative but dreadfully pedantic.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 pedantic
Sure, Pittsburgh Trauma being a teaching hospital naturally lends to scenes of literal instruction, but too often the show pushes past procedural necessity into something distractingly pedantic, even patronizing.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
If only a pedantic stance could ease Americans’ fears that health care coverage will be out of reach for them in 2026.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
Instead of focusing on the defense industrial base, the upcoming national defense strategy, or preparing to face threats across the Indo-Pacific and Europe, Hegseth talked about fitness tests and haircuts, coming across as pedantic for a room of seasoned commanders, the staffer said.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2025
Greengrass uses the scene where the bus becomes stationary as an example of conveying feelings without being pedantic.
—Tomris Laffly, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedantic
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
If only a pedantic stance could ease Americans’ fears that health care coverage will be out of reach for them in 2026.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
Instead of focusing on the defense industrial base, the upcoming national defense strategy, or preparing to face threats across the Indo-Pacific and Europe, Hegseth talked about fitness tests and haircuts, coming across as pedantic for a room of seasoned commanders, the staffer said.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2025
Greengrass uses the scene where the bus becomes stationary as an example of conveying feelings without being pedantic.
—Tomris Laffly, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pedantic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pedantic
Adjective
-
The individual who once grappled with learning disabilities emerged into a scholarly critical thinker.—
Jason Jones,
New York Times,
10 May 2026
-
For most of his life, Mojtaba was not regarded as a religious scholar of significant theological authority or scholarly distinction.—
Hamidreza Azizi,
Time,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
An exhausting, preachy, frankly, boring and outdated version of his former self.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
Let’s be honest here, and no disrespect to venerable family board games, but Monopoly is kind of boring.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
The same product class today can be assembled by one technically literate person in a weekend using off-the-shelf models and a Lovable frontend.—
Gabriel Alin Zainescu,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
-
Fluency in artificial intelligence is increasingly a prerequisite in today's labor market, with employers across industries seeking AI-literate job candidates.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
Traveling with a heavy bag can make any journey feel longer and more tiring.—
Destinee Scott,
Travel + Leisure,
7 May 2026
-
Flimsy nozzles crack and leak, and heavy-duty nozzles get tiring to hold when your garden calls for more watering time than your hands can handle.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
For instance, the love planet Venus spends the first half of the month in the curious, playful and loquacious sign of Gemini, making attraction more cerebral than physical.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
-
Caleb Downs would be fun on the offensive side of the ball, most likely as a receiver, because of his cerebral nature.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
The world of college football is rarely dull.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
This charger brings interactivity and enthusiasm to this process that has been viewed as so dull for so long.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
The next is making the grid intelligent enough to absorb that power at scale—flexible, predictive, and reliable.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
-
An immersive, intelligent debut.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
10 May 2026
Adjective
-
That’s also in part a function of Paglen’s practice itself, which has long been critiqued for its didactic bent.—
Louis Bury,
ARTnews.com,
1 May 2026
-
Granted, there was a lot to criticize in my writing, which was suffering from all sorts of problems, from structural incoherence to insufficient character development to—yes—didactic heavy-handedness that broke the reader’s immersion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pedantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pedantic. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
