stickler

[stik-ler]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stickler ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who insists on something unyieldingly (usually followed by for): a stickler for ceremony.

any puzzling or difficult problem.

Origin of stickler

First recorded in 1530–40; stickle + -er¹

Synonyms for stickler

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stickler ON THESAURUS.COM

1. fanatic, purist, perfectionist. 2. puzzle, riddle, mystery.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for stickler

taskmaster, nitpicker, disciplinarian, fanatic, enforcer, riddle, mystery, paradox, enigma, twister, stumper, teaser, zealot, contender, haggler, higgler

Examples from the Web for stickler

Contemporary Examples of stickler

Her grammar is fine—Ann is a stickler for grammar—and her anecdotes make sense in that they have a beginning, a middle and an end.
Hatchet Job of the Year 2014 Shortlist Announced
The Telegraph
January 19, 2014
Maybe she's a cop who is a stickler for the rules because she's trying to impress the men upstairs.
Why Crime Novelists Don't Get Women
Christopher Rice
April 12, 2010

Historical Examples of stickler

This fairy was a stickler for the correct use of every word.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
But, remember this, I'm under a general who's a stickler for the book, so be careful.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery
Elpaso was notoriously 54 a stickler for a square deal at cards.
Nan of Music Mountain
Frank H. Spearman
This was a strenuous day's work, particularly if the star was a stickler.
Watch Yourself Go By
Al. G. Field
Gerald was a stickler for correct Latin grammar; he is great on “howlers.”
Medival Wales
A. G. Little

British Dictionary definitions for stickler

stickler

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for 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.