pernickety
Americanadjective
adjective
-
excessively precise and attentive to detail; fussy
-
(of a task) requiring close attention; exacting
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pernickety
1800–10; originally Scots; of uncertain origin; the prefix per- occurs in a number of other expressive words in Scots, e.g. pergaddus thump, clatter, perskeet fastidious, perjink trim, neat
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.
Someone else who worked with Mr Raab said his behaviour was "arbitrary, pernickety" and he was "very hard on junior staff" and "extremely difficult to work with".
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2023
I thought to myself: “I never knew Ian was so virile, so military in his bearing, such a pernickety sergeant-major of a man.”
From The Guardian ● May 22, 2019
"To tell the story of Glastonbury is difficult," protests my Penguin guide's pernickety author, "so cunning is the mixture of legend and history."
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2018
Indeed, so far only Britain has formally adopted all of its obligations under the 1998 Rome statute, from witness protection to sentence enforcement and pernickety rules on privileges and immunities.
From Economist ● May 27, 2010
Recently, after enduring more than half a century of relentless, pernickety attention, the ornamental garden had been abandoned.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
