as in obsessive
extremely or overly neat, careful, or precise
I've always been anal about arranging my books alphabetically by author.
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Recent Examples of anal
The actress died in 2009 at age 62 following a battle with anal cancer.
—
Stephanie Nolasco , Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 11 Apr. 2026
Fox was diagnosed with vulvar cancer in February 2019, then cervical cancer soon after, and she was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2023.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
Forensics find feces under the fingernail, suggesting it had been used in anal play before it was mailed.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2026
Doctors discover severe condition At a nearby hospital, doctors initially believed Paloma Quatrini was suffering from a condition known as anal prolapse.
—Meghan Schiller, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for anal
Stephanie Nolasco , Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 11 Apr. 2026
Fox was diagnosed with vulvar cancer in February 2019, then cervical cancer soon after, and she was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2023.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
Forensics find feces under the fingernail, suggesting it had been used in anal play before it was mailed.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2026
Doctors discover severe condition At a nearby hospital, doctors initially believed Paloma Quatrini was suffering from a condition known as anal prolapse.
—Meghan Schiller, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for anal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anal
Adjective
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Behind Fernandez’s obsessive hitting tutelage, a young Bruins roster delivers national-best RBIs and on-base percentage.—
Liana Handler,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
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Demie, a music obsessive, recalls being extremely impressed by the needle drops that Levinson wrote in.—
Seija Rankin,
HollywoodReporter,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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Officials with the Georgia Department of Transportation have been adamant that many of the major road closures and resurfacing projects are unrelated to the World Cup, and therefore are on a multi-year timeline.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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Healthcare advocates are equally adamant.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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And in France, a country whose approach to secularism is increasingly contested because of its strict regulation of religion in public life, some 13,000 adults were baptized at the Easter Vigil this year — 42% of them ages 18 to 25.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
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In April Judge Roach issued strict media guidelines for the trial, including a limit of nine media members and prohibiting photography and digital recording of court activity.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Anal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anal. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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