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  • Adj.

pedantic

puh-DAN-tik

Context
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Professor Snape, in the Harry Potter books, is considered to be pedantic because he is overly concerned about formal rules. Snape will often choose to be unreasonable because his pedantic nature leads him to place dull, precise regulations over people. His obvious discomfort when other, less pedantic teachers allow rules to be broken shows in his short and angry replies to these more lenient actions. As a pedant, he finds any such irregularities annoying because he thinks that all rules are to be followed to the letter.

Quiz: How might a pedantic person act?

  • They would love to learn new things and explore new places.
  • They like routine and do the same things in the same order every day.
  • They would constantly correct others’ minor mistakes.

Memory Hook
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Pedro the Romantic "Should I ask her out before or after I see her? Should I try to kiss her before, during, or after the movie? Should I try to hold her hand for 2 minutes, or 5? I have to do it right!" Thus went the mind of pedantic Pedro the romantic 18.5 hours per day.

Examples
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  • It may be pedantic to point out the difference between 'soil' and 'dirt.' The dirty little secret is that there have been farmers and gardeners for centuries successfully growing plants in what they may have incorrectly called 'dirt.' — The Spruce
  • The result is a casual, refreshing, seemingly innocent view of baseball, a game that Angell assumes not only is loved but should be loved—and without being pedantic or naive he explains why this is a proper attitude. — Sports Illustrated

Word Ingredients
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ped child
-ant being in a state or condition
-ic like

A pedant used to be a word that meant “schoolmaster;” a teacher tends to be an enforcer of rules, which the student, or child, is expected to follow.

Word Theater
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Seinfeld Kramer is being pedantic.
2071

Word Constellation
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Pedantic

Word Variants
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pedant n someone who is too rule conscious or shows off her learning