exacting

1 hard to please he was shocked when his normally exacting supervisor complimented him on a job well done Synonyms of exacting choosy (or choosey), dainty, delicate, demanding, finicky, fastidious, finical, finicking, fussbudgety, fussy, nice, old-maidish, particular, pernickety [chiefly British], persnickety, pickyWords Related to exacting hyperfastidious, overdemanding, ultrafastidious; discerning, discriminating, selective; insightful, knowledgeable; captious, carping, caviling (or cavilling), critical, faultfinding, hypercritical, overcritical; careful, meticulous, painstaking, punctilious, scrupulous; queasy (also queazy), squeamish; peevish, petulant, prickly, touchy; niminy-piminy, prim, prissyNear Antonyms of exacting affable, breezy, carefree, devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky, lackadaisical, laid-back, low-pressure, relaxed; flexible, lax, loose; lenient, permissive; uncritical; indiscriminating, undiscriminatingAntonyms of exacting undemanding, unfastidious, unfussy

2 not allowing for any exceptions or loosening of standards the prep school's exacting standards for admission Synonyms of exacting brassbound, cast-iron, rigid, hard-line, inflexible, rigorous, strict, stringent, uncompromisingWords Related to exacting close, conscientious, exact, fussy, meticulous, painstaking, punctilious, scrupulous, undeviating; adamant, adamantine, determined, dogged, firm, relentless, resolved, single-minded, steadfast, stubborn, tenacious, unbending, unflinching; immovable, implacable, unappeasable, unrelenting, unsparing, unyielding; austere, demanding, flinty, grim, hard, hardened, hard-hearted, harsh, ironbound, severe, stern, toughNear Antonyms of exacting acquiescent, compliant, compromising, pliable, pliant, relenting, yielding; easy, easygoing, gentle, indulgent, kindly, lenient, merciful, mild, pampering, soft, spoiling, tolerant; neglectful, negligent, remiss, slipshod, sloppy, slovenly, unfussyAntonyms of exacting flexible, lax, loose, relaxed, slack

3 requiring considerable physical or mental effort the new recruits had to adjust themselves to the exacting discipline of military life Synonyms of exacting arduous, Augean, backbreaking, challenging, demanding, difficult, effortful, hard, formidable, grueling (or gruelling), heavy, hellacious, herculean, killer, laborious, moiling, murderous, pick-and-shovel, rigorous, rough, rugged, severe, stiff, strenuous, sweaty, tall, testing, toilsome, tough, uphillWords Related to exacting abstract, abstruse, complex, complicated, elusive, hairy, insoluble, intricate, involved, knotty, opaque, problematic (also problematical), recondite, serious, spiny, stubborn, thorny, ticklish, tricky; bruising, burdensome, exhausting, labored, onerous, oppressive, stressful, taxing, tight, trying; annoying, bothersome, distressing, irksome, troublesome, vexatious; grievous, grim, strict, stringent; brutal, cruel, inhuman, painfulNear Antonyms of exacting achievable, clear, doable, elementary, manageable, uncomplicated; comforting, gentle, painless, relaxed, smooth, soothing; accessible, friendly, idiotproof, user-friendlyAntonyms of exacting cheap, easy, effortless, facile, light, mindless, simple, soft, undemanding

4 requiring much time, effort, or careful attention writing will always be an exacting task Synonyms of exacting arduous, burdensome, challenging, demanding, grueling (or gruelling), killing, laborious, onerous, persnickety, taxing, toilsomeWords Related to exacting difficult, formidable, hard, herculean, rough, rugged, stiff, strenuous, testing, tough; oppressive, trying; rigid, rigorous, severe, stern, strict, stringentNear Antonyms of exacting easy, effortless, facile, simple, smoothAntonyms of exacting light, nondemanding, unchallenging, undemanding