fussy
Americanadjective
-
excessively busy with trifles; anxious or particular about petty details.
-
hard to satisfy or please.
a fussy eater.
- Synonyms:
- persnickety, finicky, choosy, particular
-
(of clothes, decoration, etc.) elaborately made, trimmed, or decorated.
All the bric-a-brac gave the room a fussy, cluttered look.
-
full of details, especially in excess.
His writing is so fussy I lose the thread of the story.
adjective
-
inclined to fuss over minor points
-
very particular about detail
-
characterized by overelaborate detail
the furniture was too fussy to be elegant
Other Word Forms
- fussily adverb
- fussiness noun
- overfussy adjective
- unfussily adverb
- unfussiness noun
- unfussy adjective
Etymology
Origin of fussy
Explanation
If you’re fussy, you’re all about the little details. You want the dressing on the side, you want your collar just so, and you want the place mats arranged at a 90-degree angle. The word fussy came into English in the 19th century, but it’s a good bet that people have been fussy since the beginning of time. If you’re fussy, you’re really picky about your needs and requirements. You might be fussy about your food and refuse to eat cauliflower. You’re rarely satisfied — that can be annoying! Fussy can also describe something that has too much going on, like a fussy shirt that has ruffles, buttons, and a large floral pattern.
Vocabulary lists containing fussy
The Benefits of Being an Octopus
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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The First State of Being
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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.
The data collected — including health monitoring and yes, troubleshooting fussy toilets — will inform future off-planet missions.
From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026
John Lavelle exudes a perfumed whiff of modern camp in his portrayal of Orsini-Rosenberg, the fussy, backstabbing director of the Imperial Opera.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
Other investigations have identified eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East as popular export destinations where gangs are not too fussy about whether the car is right-hand drive or not.
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
It’s dramatic without being fussy, customizable without being complicated, and frankly, visually festive in a way that says we tried, but not too hard.
From Salon • Nov. 27, 2025
The fussy biochemical setup had taken weeks to perfect—except each time the ribosomes were caught, they crumbled and fell apart.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
