high-maintenance

adjective

high-main·​te·​nance ˈhī-ˈmānt-nən(t)s 

-ˈmān-tə-nən(t)s

1

: requiring a large amount of care or maintenance

The high-maintenance "Dracula" orchid constantly needs high levels of humidity and cooler temperatures.

—Victoria Colliver

They can't even afford the high-maintenance hairdos, let alone the Adidas sweats.

—Gerri Hirshey

2

of a person : tending to cause problems or demand attention : extremely sensitive, demanding, or temperamental

Playing the victim gets you absolutely nowhere, and it only makes you seem tiring and high-maintenance to your boss.

—Cosmopolitan

Matthäus is the greatest German sweeper since Beckenbauer, but he's high-maintenance. At various times in his career, he has accused a ref of taking bribes, scrapped with a teammate and, three years ago, ripped his universally beloved German teammate Jürgen Klinsmann in a tell-all book.

—Jeff Bradley

Examples of high-maintenance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a reason people love to joke about how high-maintenance things like white cars and white dogs are—anything white tends to show every bit of dirt, grime, and buildup in a way that darker colors simply don’t. — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2026

Sun-Loving Outdoor Potted Plants Containers brimming with beautiful treasures don’t need to be high-maintenance. — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Aug. 2026

Zinnias Meet the colorful zinnia, a delightful, easy bloomer that isn’t high-maintenance. — Melissa Epifano, The Spruce, 8 July 2026

Long hair doesn’t have to feel heavy or high-maintenance in summer with the right heat-friendly styling tricks. — Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 24 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for high-maintenance

• maintenance