Pronunciation

How to pronounce “pedantic

“pedantic” is pronounced /pəˈdæntɪk/ (puh-DAN-tik) in American English and /pɛdantɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “an”.
The sound

Say “pedantic” in 3 beats

Say it like this

pedantic

/pəˈdæntɪk/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /pɛdantɪk/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. ped
  2. andænstress
  3. tictɪk
IPA (American)
/pəˈdæntɪk/
IPA (British)
/pɛdantɪk/
Respelling
puh-DAN-tik
Syllables
3 — ped-AN-tic
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ped-AN-tic. “an” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pəˈdæntɪk/

British

/pɛdantɪk/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “pedantic” means

  1. adjective

    marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects

Say it in a sentence

He can be pedantic about the difference between those two words.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

pedantic”, answered

How do you pronounce “pedantic”?

“pedantic” is pronounced /pəˈdæntɪk/ (puh-DAN-tik) in American English and /pɛdantɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “an”. Build it as ped-AN-tic, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “pedantic” have?

3: ped · an · tic. The beat lands on the second, “an”.

Is “pedantic” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pəˈdæntɪk/ (puh-DAN-tik); British English says /pɛdantɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “pedantic” mean?

As an adjective: marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects For example: “He can be pedantic about the difference between those two words.”

Where is the stress in “pedantic”?

Stress the second syllable: ped-AN-tic. “an” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “pedantic” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.