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pedantry

American  
[ped-n-tree] / ˈpɛd n tri /

noun

plural

pedantries

  1. the character, qualities, practices, etc., of a pedant, especially undue display of learning.

  2. slavish attention to rules, details, etc.

  3. an instance of being pedantic.

    the pedantries of modern criticism.
pedantry British  
/ ˈpɛdəntrɪ /

noun

  1. the habit or an instance of being a pedant, esp in the display of useless knowledge or minute observance of petty rules or details

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pedantry

First recorded in 1575–85, pedantry is from the Italian word pedanteria. See pedant, -ry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.