fastidious
Americanadjective
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excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please.
a fastidious eater.
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requiring or characterized by excessive care or delicacy; painstaking.
adjective
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very critical; hard to please
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excessively particular about details
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exceedingly delicate; easily disgusted
Related Words
See particular.
Other Word Forms
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fastidiouslyadverb
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fastidiousnessnoun
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hyperfastidiousadjective
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hyperfastidiouslyadverb
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hyperfastidiousnessnoun
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nonfastidiousadjective
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nonfastidiouslyadverb
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nonfastidiousnessnoun
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overfastidiousadjective
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overfastidiouslyadverb
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overfastidiousnessnoun
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ultrafastidiousadjective
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ultrafastidiouslyadverb
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ultrafastidiousnessnoun
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unfastidiousadjective
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unfastidiouslyadverb
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unfastidiousnessnoun
Etymology
Origin of fastidious
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin fastīdiōsus “squeamish,” from fastīdi(um) “lack of appetite, disgust” (perhaps from fastu(s) “pride, conceit” + -tīdium, combining form of taedium tedium ) + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
If you want to describe a person who insists on perfection or pays much attention to food, clothing and cleanliness, the right word is fastidious. Fastidious is a funny-sounding adjective from the Latin fastidium "loathing" that has several equally strange-sounding synonyms — persnickety, fussbudgety, finicky and punctilious. Fussy and hard to please will also do the trick. Fastidious is occasionally used as a compliment to describe someone whose attention to detail gives them good organizing abilities, but it is usually used as a disapproving term.
Vocabulary lists containing fastidious
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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Grade 11, List 2
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Behave Yourself! Vocabulary for Good, Bad, and Indifferent Conduct
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fastidious and ambitious, he earned the nickname “Saint Michael” from city councilmembers for his focus on ethics.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2024
Fastidious, grizzled manager Buck Showalter has spent his first few days asking everyone around him why things are done the way they are — and then changing them if the answer doesn’t satisfy him.
From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2022
Fastidious, punctual, and a stickler for presentation, he pays attention to minutia like fonts and margins in documents.
From Reuters • Nov. 11, 2012
Fastidious fussbudget and sloppy sports writer are thrown together as roommates, and hilarity ensues in this classic play by Neil Simon.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 1, 2012
Fastidious Johnny had bought his own cup, emulating men who were in better circumstances.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
