fastidious
Americanadjective
-
excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please.
a fastidious eater.
-
requiring or characterized by excessive care or delicacy; painstaking.
adjective
-
very critical; hard to please
-
excessively particular about details
-
exceedingly delicate; easily disgusted
Related Words
See particular.
Other Word Forms
- fastidiously adverb
- fastidiousness noun
- hyperfastidious adjective
- hyperfastidiously adverb
- hyperfastidiousness noun
- nonfastidious adjective
- nonfastidiously adverb
- nonfastidiousness noun
- overfastidious adjective
- overfastidiously adverb
- overfastidiousness noun
- ultrafastidious adjective
- ultrafastidiously adverb
- ultrafastidiousness noun
- unfastidious adjective
- unfastidiously adverb
- unfastidiousness noun
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Grade 11, List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Behave Yourself! Vocabulary for Good, Bad, and Indifferent Conduct
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
But like her previous partners, he was arrogant and controlling—“yet another man who was fastidious and grumpy,” Ms. Meltzer writes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
The fastidious Mendoza needs to get his platoon rescued but he can’t concentrate on coordinates.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2025
But it narrows some of the fastidious distancing that there's been between what had happened at the shut down News of the World and the Sun.
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025
As Ruggero, he traced fastidious lines through the full length of Puccini’s lavish melodies, holding them taut before releasing them, and artfully negotiated his registers.
From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2024
He was at the same time haughty, reserved, and fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
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.
