Pédant (en. Pedantic)

/pe.dɑ̃/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

adjective

Qualifies a person who is pretentious and seeks to impress with their knowledge.

He considers himself an expert, but he is just pedantic.

Il se considère comme un expert, mais il est juste pédant.

Refers to a person who displays an attitude of superiority.

His speech was boring; he was too pedantic to be taken seriously.

Son discours était ennuyeux, il était trop pédant pour être pris au sérieux.

Qualifies a behavior that seeks to belittle others through pretensions.

She was pedantic in her critiques, leaving no chance for her colleagues.

Elle était pédante dans ses critiques, ne laissant aucune chance à ses collègues.

From the verb 'pédanter', derived from the Latin 'pedanticus', meaning 'related to pedants'.

to have a pedantic air

To adopt a superior or disdainful attitude.

avoir un air pédant

not to be pedantic

To be humble in one's knowledge.

ne pas être pédant

to talk like a pedant

To express oneself in a pretentious manner.

parler comme un pédant

pedantry

Pedantic behavior, attitude of intellectual pretension.

pédanterie

pedanticism

Tendency to be pedantic.

pédantisme

knowledge

Knowledge in a particular field.

savoir

A person who shows off

Look at him, he always talks like a pedant, as if he knows everything.

Regarde-le, il parle toujours comme un pédant, comme s'il savait tout.

Boring intellectual

This guy is a boring intellectual, always pedantic.

Ce mec est un intello ennuyeux, toujours pédant.