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
-
Abby, how does one work with stubborn husbands?—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
9 May 2026
-
Ahead, Katie Sullivan, the director of issue communications at the American Cleaning Institute, shares the best way to remove sticky, greasy residue from pot lids, at-home solutions for tackling even the most stubborn residue, and the one mistake to avoid that can make cleanup more difficult.—
Olivia McIntosh,
Martha Stewart,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
This woman was worried about her daughters who had become swept up in this obsessive new group.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
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But the obsessive singing is also about you, the fan, being Billie.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
He can be seen as a dogged competitor who used his edge to push his way to the big leagues.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
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Images like that—paired with her more dogged energy on some of these tracks—suggest there is hope buried somewhere in these songs.—
Colin Joyce,
Pitchfork,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And Shuter is also reporting that Lively wanted a strict NDA during settlement negotiations, but the Baldoni camp refused.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
11 May 2026
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Baltimore residents support stricter penalties Parents who spoke to WJZ-TV supported stricter penalties.—
Drew Aunkst,
CBS News,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
The French film industry is very adamant about showing films in theaters and maintaining a long theatrical window.—
John Ross,
Vanity Fair,
7 May 2026
-
Be adamant, not alarmist, as Mars squares off with Jupiter.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Anal-retentive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anal-retentive. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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