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Pedantic vs Sophist - What's the difference?

pedantic | sophist |

As an adjective pedantic

is like a pedant, overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.

As a noun sophist is

one of a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece.

pedantic

English

Alternative forms

* pedantick (obsolete)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Like a pedant, overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.
  • Being showy of one’s knowledge, often in a boring manner.
  • Being finicky or fastidious, especially with language.
  • "On the contrary, the fall was perfectly safe; it was the impact with the ground that killed him".

    Synonyms

    * (like a pedant) anal-retentive, fussy, nit-picky * (knowledge-peacock) (sometimes applicable) nit-picky, ostentatious, pedagogical, pretentious * (linguistically affected) fussy, nit-picky * See also

    Anagrams

    *

    sophist

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One of a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece.
  • A teacher who used plausible but fallacious reasoning.
  • One who is captious, fallacious, or deceptive in argument.
  • Usage notes

    * The meaning of "sophist" can vary depending on the time period to which one is referring. A sophist of the earliest period was a master in his art or craft who demonstrated (taught by example) his practical skill/learning in exchange for pay. Later sophists were providers of a well-rounded education intended to give pupils arete'' – "virtue, human excellence". By late antiquity, ''sophist?s'' / ''sophistes'' tended to denote exclusively a skilled public speaker and/or teacher of rhetoric.''Dictionary of Philosophy'', (ed.), Philosophical Library, 1962. ''See:'' "Sophists" by Max Fishler, p. 295." History of the name ‘Sophist’," ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' at ''www.britannica.com .

    Synonyms

    * logic chopper

    References