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
Victoria ColliverThey can't even afford the high-maintenance hairdos, let alone the Adidas sweats.—Gerri Hirshey
Gerri Hirshey2
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
CosmopolitanMatthäus 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
Jeff BradleyExamples of high-maintenance in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Other readers spoke of lives crammed with tedious complications, from high-maintenance people to useless possessions.
—Dan White, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
This dog that normally put the high in high-maintenance abruptly reinvented himself as a wholly different animal.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2024
Leather may seem high-maintenance for a pair of hiking boots, but that’s not the case.
—Lauren Mazzo, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2024
If that sounds too high-maintenance, Mena says that's cool too.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 13 Feb. 2024
Shorter haircuts are also significantly less high-maintenance over all.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 30 Jan. 2024
Levy co-created the Emmy-winning series with his son, Daniel Levy, who played the Roses’ high-maintenance son David.
—Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 27 Jan. 2024
Prairie Moon also sells Eco-Grass, a low-maintenance lawn seed mix that’s an alternative to thirsty, high-maintenance turf grass.
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Jan. 2024
In the aftermath of high-maintenance hair color trends like money piece highlights, a return to simpler hair looks makes sense.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 26 Dec. 2023
Dan White, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
This dog that normally put the high in high-maintenance abruptly reinvented himself as a wholly different animal.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2024
Leather may seem high-maintenance for a pair of hiking boots, but that’s not the case.
—Lauren Mazzo, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2024
If that sounds too high-maintenance, Mena says that's cool too.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 13 Feb. 2024
Shorter haircuts are also significantly less high-maintenance over all.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 30 Jan. 2024
Levy co-created the Emmy-winning series with his son, Daniel Levy, who played the Roses’ high-maintenance son David.
—Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 27 Jan. 2024
Prairie Moon also sells Eco-Grass, a low-maintenance lawn seed mix that’s an alternative to thirsty, high-maintenance turf grass.
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Jan. 2024
In the aftermath of high-maintenance hair color trends like money piece highlights, a return to simpler hair looks makes sense.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 26 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'high-maintenance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near high-maintenance
Cite this Entry
“High-maintenance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high-maintenance. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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