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
Synonym Usage
See particular.
Other Word Forms
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fastidiousnessnoun
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hyperfastidiousnessnoun
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nonfastidiousnessnoun
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overfastidiousnessnoun
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ultrafastidiousnessnoun
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unfastidiousnessnoun
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hyperfastidiousadjective
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nonfastidiousadjective
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overfastidiousadjective
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ultrafastidiousadjective
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unfastidiousadjective
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fastidiouslyadverb
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hyperfastidiouslyadverb
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nonfastidiouslyadverb
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overfastidiouslyadverb
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ultrafastidiouslyadverb
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unfastidiouslyadverb
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.
I grew a little neater as I aged, especially during Covid, but was never what anyone would call fastidious.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
They’re the rare organization that is forward-thinking and fastidious enough, as general manager Les Snead said, to be “always threading the needle,” focused on the future in a few minutes and in a few years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
Go see this master of gripping narratives, fastidious painting technique and extravagant propaganda while you can.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
And its fastidious standards of excellence have never wavered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2025
Over coffee they shiver: they themselves are fastidious, they will bottle-feed, which is anyway more sanitary.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
