Gloss · Words · Fastidious

fastidious

fæˈstɪdiəsadjective

What does fastidious mean?

Very particular about details and cleanliness.

Fastidious, six ways

PlainVery particular about details and cleanliness.
ADHDPicky. Everything just so. Notices every crumb.
Gen ZParticular about everything. Folds the socks. Alphabetizes the spices.
MetaphorA cat washing one paw for the third time.
FormalVery attentive to accuracy and detail; hard to please, fussy.
Like I’m 5Someone who wants everything exactly right and clean. That’s fastidious.

How to pronounce fastidious

fa-STID-ee-us/fæˈstɪdiəs/

Fastidious in a sentence

He was fastidious about his handwriting.
He’s fastidious about loading the dishwasher just so.
The restoration was fastidious down to the screws.

Synonyms for fastidious

meticulousCareful about details, as praise.
fussyCasual, and usually a complaint.
scrupulousCareful, with a moral edge.

Where fastidious comes from

Latin. Fastidium, loathing. The sense softened from disdainful to hard to please to particular.

Good to know

Fastidious can be praise or a complaint. It means hard to please, especially about cleanliness and detail.

Fastidious meaning, on a Gloss card: Very particular about details and cleanliness.

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