pedant
2
8.6
- noun
- /ˈpɛd.ənt/
- Offensive
:
pedante
- In discussions, he often comes off as a pedant because he focuses too much on minor details.
Nobody calls him that except for pedants and weirdos, right?
- Nobody calls him that except for pedants and weirdos, right?
Examples
-
If the reader is a pedant, he might claim that the story takes place in Mexico or somewhere in South America.
Academic text (1995) -
The most annoying thing about pedants is that they are usually correct.
Blog text (31) -
"Ben, pedant that he is, gives 'birth, or the East in general,' and Will calls him an ass."
Academic text (2003) -
Andrew has always been a pedant.
Fiction book (2001) -
Bill is a pedant with no patience for sloppy work.
Academic text (2009) -
History never smiles on pedants.
-
I didn't know you were a pedant, Henningson.
-
With another click on vocabulary, a pedant pauses and parades his learning across the page.
Academic text (2004) -
His sibling is a pedant who gasses on in Greek and Latin at every opportunity.
Academic text (1996) -
"You just don't get it, do you?" He sees her bristle, but the pedant in him blunders on.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
21
7.9
A person who always wants things done exactly and carefully
1
6.9
A person who often points out very small mistakes and complains about them
1
9.5
A person who worries about small details and wants everything neat
1
9.9
A person who complains a lot about small details
A person who cares more about rules and ideas than practice
A person who often corrects how others use words and their meanings
A person who argues about very small differences in meaning
A person who cares too much about small unimportant details in a hobby or project
A person who treats big problems as unimportant and focuses on small details
Antonyms
How Pedantic
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word pedant comes from a word for a teacher, like pedagogue, which comes from old Greek parts meaning 'child' and 'leader'. Because it once meant a teacher who corrected every small mistake, a pedant today is someone who cares too much about tiny rules or who likes to show off their learning.