as in stubborn
extremely or overly neat, careful, or precise
My anal-retentive brother keeps records of everything that happens in his life.
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Recent Examples of anal-retentive
But there would be no grease-drinking, Judas-playing Sandy without his anal-retentive best friend, Reuben Feffer.
—
Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
Conventional management practices suppress everything that isn’t vine by mowing, tilling, and spraying herbicide with an intensity that ranges from anal-retentive to paranoid.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 24 July 2024
One might be forgiven for also thinking that the identification is not so much between the audience and the killer as between Fincher, who is known as something of a filmmaking fusspot, and his anal-retentive central character.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
Conventional management practices suppress everything that isn’t vine by mowing, tilling, and spraying herbicide with an intensity that ranges from anal-retentive to paranoid.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 24 July 2024
One might be forgiven for also thinking that the identification is not so much between the audience and the killer as between Fincher, who is known as something of a filmmaking fusspot, and his anal-retentive central character.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anal-retentive
Adjective
-
Their relationship can be difficult as AM is stubborn and likes to have her way always.—
Carolyn Rosenblatt,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
-
Rick McConnell said that this sounds like his mom, who is stubborn.—
Bella Waters,
Kansas City Star,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
Straight heads-down obsessive preoccupation with landing at AGI.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
-
But my other obsessive pursuits did not possess that game-like quality, did not satisfy the thrill of the chase, of competition against myself.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
11 June 2025
Adjective
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Since the company’s founding, the CEO has maintained a dogged commitment to providing banking services for little to no fees and has relied on interchange revenue.—
Jeff Kauflin,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
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The anger melted away, eventually giving way to a dogged passion for getting the music in front of more listeners.—
Tyler Hicks,
Rolling Stone,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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There is a strict bag policy in place at the stadium, and all restrictions will be enforced.—
Caché McClay,
USA Today,
5 June 2025
-
No new stores that sell certain pets will be allowed to open in Manatee County and existing pet sellers and breeders will face stricter regulations under new rules passed unanimously Tuesday by county leaders.—
Ryan Ballogg,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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But Rawan is adamant that solving this will need more than just high-tech products.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
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Furious, Julian is adamant that Gabby wasn’t on the boat with Finn and Toby.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Anal-retentive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anal-retentive. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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