pedantic

WOTD - 31 March 2006    

English

Alternative forms

• pedantick (obsolete)

Etymology

From pedant +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

• enPR: pa-dăn'tĭk, IPA: /pəˈdæn.tɪk/, SAMPA: /p@"d{ntIk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æntɪk

Adjective

pedantic (comparative more pedantic, superlative most pedantic)

1. Like a pedant, overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.
2. Being showy of one’s knowledge, often in a boring manner.
3. Being finicky or fastidious with language.

Related terms

• pedant
• pedantry

Synonyms

• (like a pedant): (informal, derogatory) anal-retentive, fussy, nit-picky
• (knowledge-peacock): (sometimes applicable) nit-picky, ostentatious, pedagogical, pretentious
• (linguistically affected): fussy, nit-picky
• See also Wikisaurus:fastidious

Translations

like a pedant

Czech: pedantský (cs) f., pedantický (cs) m. Finnish: pedanttinen (fi), pikkumainen (fi), pikkutarkka (fi) French: méticuleux (fr)

Greek: σχολαστικός (el) (scholastikós) Romanian: meticulos (ro), pedant (ro)

being showy of one's knowledge

Finnish: pedanttinen (fi), rikkiviisas (fi)

French: pédant (fr)

being finicky with language

Czech: pedantský (cs) f., pedantický (cs) m., slovíčkářský (cs) m. Finnish: pedanttinen (fi), sanatarkka (fi), kirjaimellinen (fi)

French: pointilleux (fr) Greek: σχολαστικός (el) (scholastikós)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Mandarin: 賣弄學問的;炫學者 Estonian: pedantne French: pédant m., pédante f. German: pedantisch

Korean: 현학적인 Romanian: pedant Serbo-Croatian: pèdantan (sh), пѐдантан (sh) Spanish: cursi, maniático, pedante, puntilloso Swedish: pedantisk

External links

• pedantic in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• pedantic at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• pentadic