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

Initiative is what separates the high performers from the high-maintenance. —Joe Altieri, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Agolde’s Ren hit the sweet spot of being high-rise without being high-maintenance. —Talia Abbas, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2025

She’s seen the difference firsthand between her approach and that of moms who take a more high-maintenance route. —Tereza Shkurtaj, People.com, 9 Aug. 2025

And, of course, there was the impostor Case Keenum, a miscast backup, and the high-maintenance Russell Wilson, who hit the right notes off the field, especially in visits to hospitals, but never found his fit in coach Sean Payton’s offense or the locker room. —Troy Renck, Denver Post, 26 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for high-maintenance

• maintenance