anal retentive

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adjective

having an anal character.

noun

a person who is anal retentive.

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TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

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What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use anal retentive in a sentence

She had an extremely retentive memory, read well, and evinced great love of reading.
The Childhood of Distinguished Women|Selina A. Bower
His knowledge of history, more especially of military history, was profound, and his memory was singularly retentive.
Letters of Lt.-Col. George Brenton Laurie|George Brenton Laurie
At the start he was blest with a most marvelous and retentive memory, and a keen sense of the practical side of life.
The Bay State Monthly, Vol. II, No. 6, March, 1885|Various
Success cannot be expected in a soil unduly retentive of moisture.
Amateur Gardencraft|Eben E. Rexford

He had been tolerably well educated; and being fond of reading, with a retentive memory, he possessed a good deal of information.
Peter the Whaler|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for anal retentive

anal retentive

/ psychoanal /

noun

a person who exhibits anal personality traits

adjective anal-retentive

exhibiting anal personality traits

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for anal retentive

anal-retentive

adj.

Indicating personality traits, such as meticulousness, avarice, and obstinacy, originating in habits, attitudes, or values associated with infantile pleasure in retention of feces.