stickler
[ stik-ler ]
/ ˈstɪk lər /
noun
a person who insists on something unyieldingly (usually followed by for): a stickler for ceremony.
any puzzling or difficult problem.
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Nearby words
sticking plaster, sticking point, stickit, stickle, stickleback, stickler, stickler syndrome, stickley, stickley, gustav, stickman, stickout
SYNONYMS FOR stickler
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for stickler
British Dictionary definitions for stickler
stickler
/ (ˈstɪklə) /
noun
(usually foll by for) a person who makes insistent demandsa stickler for accuracy
a problem or puzzlethe investigation proved to be a stickler
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for stickler
stickler
1530s, "moderator, umpire," from stickle "mediate" (1520s), probably a frequentative of Middle English stihen "to arrange, place," from Old English stihan "to arrange order," which is cognate with Middle Dutch stichten, German stiften "to found, establish," probably from Proto-Germanic *stihtan "to place on a step or base," from PIE root *steigh- "to stride, step, rise" (see stair). Meaning "person who contends or insists stubbornly" is first recorded 1640s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper