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fastidious

[fa-stid-ee-uh s, fuh-]
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adjective
  1. excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please: a fastidious eater.
  2. requiring or characterized by excessive care or delicacy; painstaking.
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Origin of fastidious

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin fastīdiōsus squeamish, equivalent to fastīdi(um) lack of appetite, disgust, perhaps by syncope of *fastutīdium (fastu-, combining form of fastus pride, conceit + -tīdium combining form of taedium tedium) + -ōsus -ous
Related formsfas·tid·i·ous·ly, adverbfas·tid·i·ous·ness, nounhy·per·fas·tid·i·ous, adjectivehy·per·fas·tid·i·ous·ly, adverbhy·per·fas·tid·i·ous·ness, nounnon·fas·tid·i·ous, adjectivenon·fas·tid·i·ous·ly, adverbnon·fas·tid·i·ous·ness, nouno·ver·fas·tid·i·ous, adjectiveo·ver·fas·tid·i·ous·ly, adverbo·ver·fas·tid·i·ous·ness, nounul·tra·fas·tid·i·ous, adjectiveul·tra·fas·tid·i·ous·ly, adverbul·tra·fas·tid·i·ous·ness, nounun·fas·tid·i·ous, adjectiveun·fas·tid·i·ous·ly, adverbun·fas·tid·i·ous·ness, noun

Synonym study

1. See particular.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fastidiousness

Historical Examples

  • Heyst's dread arose, not out of shame or timidity, but from his fastidiousness.

    Victory

    Joseph Conrad

  • The attitude of warding off reveals itself as fastidiousness and as bashfulness.

  • But all the rich tremble before the fastidiousness of the poor.

  • Then I found you, Elfride, and I felt for the first time that my fastidiousness was a blessing.

  • Too much attention to dress and appearance is fastidiousness.

    Practical Ethics

    William DeWitt Hyde

British Dictionary definitions for fastidiousness

fastidious

adjective
  1. very critical; hard to please
  2. excessively particular about details
  3. exceedingly delicate; easily disgusted
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Derived Formsfastidiously, adverbfastidiousness, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin fastīdiōsus scornful, from fastīdium loathing, from fastus pride + taedium weariness
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

Word Origin and History for fastidiousness

fastidious

adj.

mid-15c., "full of pride," from Latin fastidiosus "disdainful, squeamish, exacting," from fastidium "loathing, squeamishness," most likely from *fastu-taidiom, a compound of fastus "contempt, arrogance" and taedium "aversion, disgust." Early use in English was both in passive and active senses. Meaning "squeamish, over-nice" emerged in English 1610s. Related: Fastidiously; fastidiousness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
fastidiousness in Medicine

fastidious

(fă-stĭd′ē-əs, fə-)
adj.
  1. Possessing or displaying careful, meticulous attention to detail.
  2. Difficult to please; exacting.
  3. Having complex nutritional requirements. Used of microorganisms.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.