pedantic

Archaic, pe·dan·ti·cal

[puh-dan-tik]

adjective

1. ostentatious in one's learning.

2. overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching.

   Synonyms: doctrinaire, didactic

pedantic

/ pɪˈdæntɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by pedantry

Other Word Forms

• pedantically adverb
• pedanticalness noun
• semipedantic adjective
• semipedantical adjective
• semipedantically adverb
• unpedantic adjective
• unpedantical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pedantic¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; pedant + -ic

Example Sentences

None of this is pedantic, nor is it puffed up with moral outrage.

From Los Angeles Times

Nelis renders the professor a pompous and pedantic twit but not a heartless one.

From Los Angeles Times

Environmental films that are pedantic, prescriptive, or hold audiences by the collar to make them feel bad do more disservice than good, he says.

From BBC

It's told in a joke, so it makes the point without being pedantic about it or anything like that.

From Salon

But as the motley group of Colorado voters who brought the case against Trump put it, you have to engage in “pedantic wordplay” to not apply Section 3 to Trump.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abstruse 
• pompous 
• stilted