Definition of PEDANT

pedant

Plural: pedants

Noun

  • A person who excessively displays academic learning or rules.
  • a person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit
  • A person who makes an excessive or tedious show of their knowledge, especially regarding rules of vocabulary and grammar.
  • A person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.
  • A teacher or schoolmaster.

Adj

  • Pedantic.

Verb

  • To be or act as a pedant.

Examples

  • His opponent was a pedant, constantly correcting minor rule interpretations in Words With Friends.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle French pedant, pedante, from Italian pedante (“a teacher, schoolmaster, pedant”), associated with unrelated Italian pedagogo (“teacher, pedagogue”). Compare French pédant.

Synonyms

bookworm, scholastic, nitpicker, pedant, pettifogger, priss, smart aleck, smartass, wise guy, wiseass

Antonyms

maverick

Scrabble Score: 9

pedant: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
pedant: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
pedant: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

pedant: valid Words With Friends Word