I'm looking for a way to describe someone who thinks everyone is incompetent (that is, doesn't know anything) and always has to explain every minute (small) detail because his perception of the person's competence is that it's very low (thinking the person is not that smart).
If this person were here, he'd probably end this post with…
P.S. To answer the question go to the bottom of the page, type in the answer, and then hit submit. I should be able to see it relatively quickly.
How would you describe somebody like that?
Best Answer
The compulsive need to exolain everything in the minutest detail is contained in the rhetorical term Epexegesis
Epexegetic, and epexegetical, are formed regularly. On the analogy of Athlete from Athletic, the perpetrator of obsessive explanation is an epexegete: (cf. 'exegete' n.)
That doesn't cover the infantilizing attitude this person shows to those around; but it sort of describes the obsession that is so annoying.
Now, a few years later (2021), 'mansplaining'would have to be included in a complete answer to this question. (Merriam Webster)