What does pedantic mean?
Word: Pedantic
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Pedantic means far too concerned with tiny details or rules, especially in what others say or write.
Synonyms: nitpicking
How do you spell pedantic?
Syllables: pe - dan - tic
Tricky part: The stressed vowel is a, as in ant. Pupils who mix it up with the weak e before it write pedentic.
Watch out for: pedentic, pedantik
Memory tip: Picture a very particular ant correcting everyone's grammar: the ant sits right in the middle of the word.
Pedantic in a sentence
Example 1: My brother is so pedantic that he corrected the spelling on a birthday card.
Example 2: Try not to be pedantic when your friend tells a story, since a small slip in the date hardly matters.
Example 3: His notes were clear and lively, never dry or pedantic.
Fun Fact
The noun for such a person came to English through Italian, where it once simply meant a schoolteacher. Only later did it point to someone who makes a show of tiny pieces of learning.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
One letter in this word is not needed. Find it:
peddantic
a) n
b) t
c) d
d) p
Show answer
c) d. Unlike paddle, this word keeps that consonant single.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
A cndeapit reader wrote to the paper to complain about a single missing comma in the crossword.
a) prosaic
b) pedantic
c) panoramic
d) pneumatic
Show answer
b) pedantic. Complaining about one comma shows a love of tiny details, and the d in the letters leaves one possible word.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. mneumonic 2. pharoah 3. heirarchy 4. pedantic
a) a system that ranks people from top to bottom
b) making too much of tiny points of correctness
c) a rhyme or trick that aids memory
d) a ruler of ancient Egypt
Show answer
b) making too much of tiny points of correctness. Two of the slips are swapped letters, in hierarchy and pharaoh, and mnemonic should have no u at all.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word pedantic as used in the sentence:
The pedantic guide kept stopping the tour to correct our pronunciation of every town's name.
a) forgetful
b) fussy
c) boastful
d) generous
Show answer
b) fussy. Someone fussy pays too much attention to little things.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which comment sounds pedantic?
a) Strictly speaking, it was 3.58 pm, not four.
b) I think the bus was a little late today.
c) Thanks, that was a lovely way to end the day.
d) Shall we all meet at four near the gate?
Show answer
a) Strictly speaking, it was 3.58 pm, not four.
2. Friends may groan when someone turns pedantic in a chat because ____
a) new topics are hard to think up quickly
b) loud voices disturb people working nearby
c) long silences make everyone feel sleepy
d) tiny corrections spoil the flow of the talk
Show answer
d) tiny corrections spoil the flow of the talk
