pundit

noun

pun·dit ˈpən-dət

Synonyms of pundit next

: pandit

: a learned person : teacher

: a person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media : critic

punditry

ˈpən-də-trē

noun

Did you know?

It’s no hot take to say that the original pundits were highly learned scholars and teachers in India; it’s just a statement of fact. Our English word pundit comes from the Hindi word paṇḍit, a term of respect (and sometimes an honorary title) for a wise person, especially one with knowledge of philosophy, religion, and law; its ultimate source is the Sanskrit word paṇḍita, meaning “learned.” English speakers have used pundit to refer to sages of India since the 1600s, but as is typically done with English, they eventually pushed the word into new semantic territory. By the late 1800s, pundit could also refer to a member of what is sometimes called the commentariat or punditocracy—that is, the collective group of political commentators, financial analysts, and newspaper columnists often paid to share their views on a variety of subjects.

Examples of pundit in a Sentence

a moral question that has puzzled the pundits throughout the ages the new mini laptop has gotten a thumbs-up from industry pundits

Recent Examples on the Web Markets force participants to have skin in the game, Coplan’s logic goes; the market’s behavior, in turn, contains more wisdom than, say, pundits spouting opinions. —

Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2024 Foreign interventionists, fiscal conservatives, and the social right formed the three legs of the Gipper’s Stool, as pundits used to describe the Reaganite core of the GOP. —

Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024 And Latest News In many ways, Dave Roberts is the proverbial duck on the pond (and not in the Vin Scully sense), with writers, fans, and pundits constantly taking shots at his head, while ignoring everything else. —

Dan Freedman, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 Continue reading … 'NOT SHOWING UP' – Liberal pundit declares ‘White folks’ should face 'accountability’ for not 'saving democracy’ if Harris loses. —

Fox News, 21 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pundit

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pundit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.