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
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
The pedantic director meticulously oversaw the entire construction, from perfecting the lighting in each apartment to testing the complex drainage system that collected the fake rain.
—Nathan Smith, Architectural Digest, 9 Oct. 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
Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
The pedantic director meticulously oversaw the entire construction, from perfecting the lighting in each apartment to testing the complex drainage system that collected the fake rain.
—Nathan Smith, Architectural Digest, 9 Oct. 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
-
Turner could not have known that his manifesto would define scholarly and popular understandings of American and western history for the next one hundred years.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
To be clear, there is little credible scholarly evidence that EdTech, in general, improves learning outcomes, and no conclusive evidence that generative AI improves learning outcomes over traditional human teaching.—
Dr. Timothy Scott,
Hartford Courant,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Curry is pure entertainment, and the NBA is a little more boring without him.—
Sports Columnist,
San Francisco Chronicle,
1 Apr. 2026
-
One does detect in Iran hawks a kind of 'will to destruction' and hatred of boring, civilized diplomacy.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The turbulence of the past year brings to mind the sourcing strain of the 2020 pandemic—and the ways companies became more legally literate almost overnight as a matter of survival.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Mar. 2026
-
With the help of her best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan), boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ulrich), and cine-literate nerds Randy (Jamie Kennedy) and Stu (Matthew Lillard), Sidney sets out to determine who’s behind the mask.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
When swallowing becomes difficult, eating can feel tiring or uncomfortable.—
Sundeep Venkatesan,
The Conversation,
23 Mar. 2026
-
And adopting the mantle of cultural curmudgeon can get tiring.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Rather than lean into the chaos the challenge seemed to demand, Jane went cerebral.—
H. Alan Scott,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
-
And the hour-long results that premiere on the platform Friday are a mix of the cerebral and silly that audiences have come to expect from the Problemista filmmaker and former Saturday Night Live writer.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Hochheiser, who could not return to his condo due to a mold infestation, said one dull day melted into another at Villa Rosa III.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Found Sound is a story about two kids, Felix and Marigold, and a seemingly dull summer vacation that’s upended when the kids find an old wooden box that says OPEN ME.—
Caroline Carlson,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Flexible loads, intelligent storage, and advanced demand coordination should be treated as capacity resources in grid planning, with regulatory frameworks updated accordingly.—
Brian Barlow,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
-
This innovation signals a shift toward more intelligent, cooperative, and autonomous forms of warfare.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The myth found its most enduring literary form in the Georgics (37–30 bce), a didactic poem on agriculture by the Roman poet Virgil.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
1 Apr. 2026
-
These themes are not presented in a literal or didactic way but are embedded within the material and spatial experience.—
Olga Garcia-Mayoral,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pedantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pedantic. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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