Pedantry

Pedantry refers to an excessive concern with minor details, rules, or displaying academic learning, often in a showy or tiresome manner. It involves being overly focused on trivial aspects of a subject, prioritizing adherence to form over genuine understanding or practical application. A pedantic person tends to correct minor errors or insist on precise formulations, even when such precision is unnecessary or detracts from the main point. It stems from a desire to exhibit superior knowledge or expertise, sometimes to the detriment of clear communication and productive discussion. pedantry can manifest in various contexts, including writing, speech, and professional interactions, creating an impression of rigidity and intellectual arrogance.

Pedantry meaning with examples

• The professor, in his pedantry, spent half an hour dissecting the grammatical errors in a student's paper, completely ignoring the insightful arguments presented within, leaving the student disheartened and demotivated from further pursuit.
• Instead of addressing the core issues in the company's failing marketing strategy, the manager got bogged down in the pedantry of font sizes and margins, completely neglecting the more pressing issue.
• The reviewer's pedantry was evident in their comments, focusing solely on minor formatting inconsistencies in the report and failing to acknowledge the groundbreaking research and its potential for global change.
• During the debate, the politician lost credibility by resorting to pedantry, nitpicking at the opponent's vocabulary rather than addressing the substantive concerns raised by the other candidates and the audience.