Definition

1. Noun:
   • An ostentatious and inappropriate display of learning: An excessive, showy, and often unnecessary concern with academic knowledge, formal rules, or minor details, typically in a way that is annoying or pretentious.

Usage

• As a Subject: "His pedantry made the simple explanation tedious."
• As an Object: "She was annoyed by his constant pedantry."
• With Prepositions: "The essay was criticized for its pedantry." / "He lectured with unbearable pedantry."

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "A pedantry of...": Used to specify the type of knowledge or rules being displayed in an ostentatious manner.
  • The debate devolved into a pedantry of legal definitions, losing sight of the ethical core of the issue.

Variants and Related Words

• Pedant (n): A person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules, or who makes an inappropriate display of learning.
  • He was dismissed as a mere pedant, more interested in proving others wrong than in genuine discussion.
• Pedantic (adj): Characterized by pedantry; overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.
  • Her pedantic corrections of everyone's pronunciation were tiresome.

Synonyms

• Pretentiousness: Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed.
• Nitpicking: Looking for small, unimportant errors or faults, especially to criticize unnecessarily.
• Dogmatism: The tendency to lay down principles as undeniably true, without consideration of evidence or the opinions of others (when focused on rigid adherence to doctrine).

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To split hairs: To make small and unnecessary distinctions.
  • Arguing about whether it was 2:01 or 2:02 is just splitting hairs. (This is a common behavior associated with pedantry.)
• Letter of the law: A strict, literal interpretation of the law or rules, as opposed to their spirit or intent.
  • He followed the letter of the law with such pedantry that he ignored the obvious fair solution.

Noun

1. an ostentatious and inappropriate display of learning