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anal-retentive

adjective

Definition of anal-retentivenext
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anal-retentive
  1. stubborn
  2. obsessive
  3. dogged
  4. strict
Adjective
  • Apple's stubborn insistence on keeping base iPhones at 60Hz while budget Android phones offer zippier refresh rates has always baffled me.
    — Kimberly Gedeon, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Bigger paychecks sought While the economy may be showing signs of acceleration, stubborn inflation has eroded Americans’ take-home pay.
    — Christopher Rugaber, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of stubborn
Adjective
  • The obsessive neat freak beneath the easygoing surface of the virtue-signaling feminist ally might have made an amusing motif if it were ever referenced again.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
  • At the same time, wearables, like smart rings and watches, are transforming the way everyday people view sleep, turning their resting hours into rich datasets to pore over, sometimes to unhealthy obsessive levels.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of obsessive
Adjective
  • Fineman is set to play Parker Quinn, a sports reporter for a top publication who’s known as a dogged reporter with a passion for her beat.
    — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 20 July 2026
  • One of the hallmarks of the series is its dogged attention to detail, an aspect of storyboarding infinitely complicated by the non-linear nature of the episodes and the vast number of years Lestat’s life as a vampire spans.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 7 July 2026
Definition of dogged
Adjective
  • Despite the massive guest list, Strahan shared on Good Morning America on July 6 that the ceremony still felt intimate because of the couple’s strict no-phones policy.
    — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Martinessi’s sophomore feature is set in 1959, where the charismatic titular performer returns to Buenos Aires at the height of a strict military regime.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of strict

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Cite this Entry

“Anal-retentive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anal-retentive. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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