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
-
The real world is monochromatic, straightforward, boring.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
19 July 2025
Adjective
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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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For starters, the daily office routine was more tiring than what I was accustomed to back in Israel.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 July 2025
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So 22 years ago, when her mother was pregnant with her older sister, the couple made a long and tiring trek across the border to the US.—
Jennifer Hauser,
CNN Money,
17 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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Although not specifically marketed as a pet camera, the Eufy E220 is a budget-friendly indoor home security camera packed with typically more high-end features, including remote pan and tilt, sharp 2K video footage, automatic motion tracking, and intelligent motion and sound detection.—
Cierra Cowan July 11,
PC Magazine,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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For organizations looking to unlock efficiency and save their human workforces from dull and repetitive tasks, agents represent an exciting opportunity.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2025
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The best vitamin C cleansers can come in handy for this—most are packed with brightening antioxidants and fruit enzymes to gently slough away dull, dead skin and protect it from free radicals.—
Alanna Martine Kilkeary,
Glamour,
17 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 30 Jul. 2025.
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