- of, relating to, or characterized by pedantryAlso (obsolete): pedantical
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pe•dan•tic
(pə dan′tik),USA pronunciation adj.
pe•dan′ti•cal•ly, adv.
pe•dan′ti•cal•ness, n.
- ostentatious in one's learning.
- overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, esp. in teaching.
- pedant + -ic 1590–1600
pe•dan′ti•cal•ness, n.
- 2. . didactic, doctrinaire.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pedantic /pɪˈdæntɪk/ adj
ped•ant /ˈpɛdənt/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
ped•ant•ry, n. [uncountable]See -ped2-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- one who enjoys displaying learning.
- one too concerned with minor details, esp. in teaching:a boring, uninspiring pedant whose students fall asleep in his classes.
- one too concerned with book knowledge without regard to common sense.
ped•ant•ry, n. [uncountable]See -ped2-.
ped•ant
(ped′nt),USA pronunciation n.
ped′ant•esque′, adj.
ped′ant•hood′, n.
- a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.
- a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details.
- a person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.
- [Obs.]a schoolmaster.
- Italian pedante teacher, pedant; apparently akin to pedagogue; see -ant
- 1580–90
ped′ant•hood′, n.
- 2. hairsplitter.
'pedantic' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
letter
- officialese
- pedagogue
- scholastic
- spirit
- verbose
- academe
- academese
- academicism
- bookish
- didactic
- donnish
- literary
- pedanticism
- pedantry
- style