pedant

/ˈpɛdənt/

//ˈpɛdənt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pedant" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pedant” is uncommon English (frequency #81,688 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,688
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who makes an excessive or tedious show of their knowledge, especially regarding rules of vocabulary and grammar.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pedant · pedant · English

pedant · rank #81,688 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,688
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH penitential

Nearest frequency peer: penitential (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “pedant”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “pedant” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pedant
PropertyValue
Headwordpedant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɛdənt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#81,688
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pedant” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pedantfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “penitential” (#81,690), “paternoster” (#81,685), “perineal” (#81,692). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pedant” is #81,688. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pedant is uncommon English at frequency #81,688 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɛdənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for pedant in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French pedant, pedante, from Italian pedante (“a teacher, schoolmaster, pedant”), associated with unrelated Italian pedagogo (“teacher, pedagogue”). Compare French pédant. The correct English form is pedant, spelled P-E-D-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who makes an excessive or tedious show of their knowledge, especially regarding rules of vocabulary and grammar.
  2. 2
    A person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.
  3. 3
    A teacher or schoolmaster.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how pedant appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I have in my youth oftentimes beene vexed to see a Pedant [tr. pedante] brought in, in most of Italian comedies, for a vice or sport-maker, and the nicke-name of Magister to be of no better signification amongst us.

Etymology

From Middle French pedant, pedante, from Italian pedante (“a teacher, schoolmaster, pedant”), associated with unrelated Italian pedagogo (“teacher, pedagogue”). Compare French pédant.

Synonyms

nitpickerpedantpettifoggerprisssmart alecksmartasswiseasswise guy

Antonyms

maverick

This word in other languages

pedante(Español)pédant(Français)Pedant(Deutsch)pedante(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pedant"?
"pedant" is spelled P-E-D-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɛdənt/.
What does "pedant" mean?
As a noun, "pedant" means: A person who makes an excessive or tedious show of their knowledge, especially regarding rules of vocabulary and grammar.
How do you pronounce "pedant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pedant" is /ˈpɛdənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pedant"?
From Middle French pedant, pedante, from Italian pedante (“a teacher, schoolmaster, pedant”), associated with unrelated Italian pedagogo (“teacher, pedagogue”). Compare French pédant. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pedant", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pharos#81,696Paiute#81,675piller#81,701plaits#81,705

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list