fuddy-duddy

[ fuhd-ee-duhd-ee, -duhd-ee ]

See synonyms for fuddy-duddy on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural fud·dy-dud·dies.Also fuddy.

a person who is stuffy, old-fashioned, and conservative.
a person who is fussy or picayune about details; fussbudget.

adjective

stuffy, old-fashioned, and conservative.
fussy; picayune.

Origin of fuddy-duddy

First recorded in 1900–05; of obscure origin

Words Nearby fuddy-duddy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fuddy-duddy in a sentence

The amiable fuddy-duddy playing little politics in Washington became a gentleman of war.
Gargoyles | Ben Hecht
And now he was like the others in the party—an amiable fuddy-duddy.
Gargoyles | Ben Hecht

British Dictionary definitions for fuddy-duddy

fuddy-duddy

/ (ˈfʌdɪˌdʌdɪ) /

nounplural -dies

informal a person, esp an elderly one, who is extremely conservative or dull

Origin of fuddy-duddy

C20: of uncertain origin

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

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