pedantic
pedantic Lexical Profile
pedantic Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Excessively concerned with minor details, rules, or formalities, especially in an ostentatious, tiresome, or narrow-minded display of academic learning.
"The professor's pedantic insistence on correcting every minor grammatical slip made it difficult for students to focus on the broader themes of the seminar."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern usage, "pedantic" is almost always derogatory, implying that someone's attention to detail is annoying, pretentious, or misses the broader point; for neutral or positive precision, use "meticulous" or "exacting" instead.
• Rhymes for pedantic
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 16th century from Italian "pedante" (meaning a schoolmaster or teacher), probably modified from Latin "paedagogare" and ultimately rooted in the Ancient Greek "paidagogos" (a slave who escorted children to school and supervised their conduct).