pedantry

noun

ped·​ant·​ry ˈpe-dᵊn-trē 

plural pedantries

1

: pedantic presentation or application of knowledge or learning

2

: an instance of pedantry

Examples of pedantry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There are some downsides besides pedantry about historical accuracy, too. —Ars Technica, 3 Feb. 2025

Her disbelief at bureacratic pedantry reaches a fever pitch as her desperation increases, resulting in a scene reminiscent of Judy Hopps and Flash the Sloth at the DMV in Zootopia. —Longreads, 19 Dec. 2024

Even within watch-collecting circles, the fandom expressed by devotees of Omega’s Speedmaster chronograph sets a high bar for both passion and pedantry. —Chris Hall, WIRED, 10 Dec. 2024

The inflated pedantry of his style, all those technical-sounding terms and incantatory clauses in the service of a simple idea, seems practically comic, but Kushner presents it earnestly, without a hint of irony. —Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

Effectively countering that technique probably requires some combination of quick thinking, verbal dexterity, brilliant stagecraft and (to avoid accusations of pedantry) humor. —Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 28 June 2024

But pedantry and self-consciousness can wreck the pleasures of nostalgia. —Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023

As always in Davis’s fiction, an almost imperceptible line divides pedantry from precision, enthusiasm from solipsism. —Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2023

Eventually, the adrenaline of breaking news gave way to a distaste for transactional back-scratching and pedantry of congressional procedure. —Kara Voght, Washington Post, 4 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pedantry

noun

ped·​ant·​ry ˈped-ᵊn-trē 

plural pedantries

: dull and overly exact presentation of knowledge or learning