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
Newsweek Sports quoted Bruckheimer's statements, highlighting Hamilton's pedantic approach while filming.
—
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Nelis renders the professor a pompous and pedantic twit but not a heartless one.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 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
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Nelis renders the professor a pompous and pedantic twit but not a heartless one.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 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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This family journey deeply shaped Fisher’s lifelong scholarly drive to chronicle the struggles and the triumphs of Black communities in the American West.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
14 July 2025
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Yet this has not discouraged a number of notable attempts to coerce emoji into the shape of a language, scholarly consensus be damned.—
Longreads,
Longreads,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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Hunter: The Reckoning puts players in the role of regular people who know monsters are real and can’t go back to their old, boring lives.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
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Take away the road courses or boring ovals and race more street courses.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 July 2025
Adjective
-
Qu is targeting less tech literate people than those who are vibe coding their way into big tech jobs; people who might want to use AI to start a yoga business or bakery, for example.—
Alexandra Sternlicht,
Fortune,
9 July 2025
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Budgeting is an important part of being financially literate and managing your money well.—
Wendy Wisner,
Parents,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, Kennedy’s opponent, Vice President Richard Nixon, seemed to embody what voters were tiring of—the stale complacency and status quo of the 1950s.—
Time,
Time,
23 July 2025
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There are only so many new stories to be told, and audiences seem to be tiring of the monotony.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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Operation Bounce House follows Oliver Lewis, a colonist on the planet New Sonora, who leads a simple life on his family ranch, playing with his band and tending to his family's selection of intelligent agriculture bots.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
14 July 2025
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These earbuds feature intelligent noise control, which removes up to twice as much background noise as previous AirPods models.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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The only other real difference was that the no-sugar version looked shinier and gummier, whereas the originals were a bit duller in comparison.—
Lisa DeSantis,
Glamour,
29 July 2025
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Changeable conditions usually make for exciting races, but 2025 was a bit dull.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
28 July 2025
Adjective
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This was the height of San Sebastian’s reign as the European city with the most Michelin stars per capita—an era of relentless invention, experimentation and cerebral modernist cuisine.—
Ann Abel,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
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Rarely will the path to any one gem require heavy thought or planning; the game’s more concerned about making sure the physical actions required to get to the destination feel more satisfying than any cerebral solutions.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
16 July 2025
Adjective
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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
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My intention as a filmmaker wasn’t to present these issues in a didactic or graphic way, but to reflect the emotional undercurrents, the silences, the strategies of survival and the subtle forms of resistance.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pedantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pedantic. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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