Meaning & Definition of word "Pedantry"

noun:

• 1. Excessive concern with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning.
  • Example: His pedantry was evident in the way he corrected everyone’s minor grammatical errors during discussions.
• 2. A display of learning for its own sake, often to the annoyance of others.
  • Example: The lecture was filled with such pedantry that most students left feeling more confused than enlightened.
• 3. A focus on trivial details at the expense of a broader point.
  • Example: In her critique of the novel, she fell into pedantry, obsessively analyzing a single phrase while ignoring the overall themes.
• 4. The practice of paying excessive attention to formal rules and details.
  • Example: His pedantry about following the recipe exactly led to disastrous results in the kitchen.