fastidious

adjective

fa-ˈsti-dē-əs How to pronounce fastidious (audio)
Definition of fastidiousnext
as in careful
hard to please he is very fastidious about how he arranges his music collection, and woe to anyone who dares to mess around with it

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 fastidious The offseasons are usually too packed to be so fastidious with his training regimen. — Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 11 July 2026 Where To Eat On 30A From classic Southern fare to bustling rooftop bars to seafood dives, the restaurants scattered along 30A will satisfy (and fill up) everyone, from the most fastidious foodie to the pickiest nibbler. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 10 July 2026 No such thing as a flop era for the fastidious Atlantic Trivia player. — Drew Goins, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026 The irony is that in not trying to pass muster with more conservative theatergoers (and their fastidious institutional guardians), playwrights have been winning over not just critics but also formerly squeamish artistic directors and perennially nervous Broadway producers. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for fastidious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fastidious
  1. careful
  2. nice
  3. particular
  4. finicky
  5. exacting
  6. persnickety
  7. picky
  8. fussy
Adjective
  • Nick wants to be careful about their firm’s spending, but Serena reminds him that Cathcarts has every resource at its disposal.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The Iranian regime will need to be careful before launching such an attack, or even before undertaking lesser forms of escalation.
    — Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of careful
Adjective
  • The woman and her children lived in the nice part of the house and the foster girls — three to five at a time — ate dinner separately in the basement.
    — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026
  • In an era where millions of recipes are made for content consumption as much as actual consumption, traveling back in time for someone’s beloved 1970 banana bread recipe sounds pretty nice.
    — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of nice
Adjective
  • If a particular bank or investor isn’t the right match at the moment, preserving the relationship is important in case the situation ever changes.
    — Frank Williamson, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • If there are any issues with a particular trail that Coles has identified needs repairs — like if an endangered species is known to live in a creek next to the trail — the Forest Service could deny his request, thus leaving the trail unmaintained.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of particular
Adjective
  • The oversized trench coat maintains its spot in the fall capsule wardrobe, while a few more unexpected silhouettes, like the elevated track jacket, offer both protection and elegance in the notoriously finicky weather to come.
    — Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Gap’s CashSoft fabric is a soft cotton blend that feels like cashmere, but isn’t as finicky.
    — Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of finicky
Adjective
  • Known for his exacting, couture-like approach, and an experimental zeal rare among designers at Europe’s largest luxury brands, the Frenchman got his start in fashion by filing, photocopying and cataloguing fabrics at Jean Paul Gaultier.
    — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Every place on this list has been vetted and endorsed, again and again, by the world’s most exacting travelers.
    — Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 23 July 2026
Definition of exacting
Adjective
  • The team then turned to an open-source model developed in China, which was less persnickety.
    — Stephen Witt, New Yorker, 30 July 2026
  • Imagine creating a new standard of hypersensitive caution about attracting even the most persnickety media criticism, and then applying it for the first time to your son’s wedding.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
Definition of persnickety
Adjective
  • But even Cruise has learned the hard way that moviegoers have become pickier about what’s worth getting off the couch for.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The bears, which are normally solitary creatures, can be picky when choosing mates, and females are only in heat for one to three days each year.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of picky
Adjective
  • Today’s recipe Carolynn Carreño’s recipe for this smooth, creamy chocolate frosting is easy to make, with none of the potential pitfalls of fussy European buttercreams.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The doughnuts are tender with a subtly sweet dough, and the toppings aren’t overly fussy.
    — Lia Picard, AJC.com, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of fussy

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fast-forwards
fastidious
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Cite this Entry

“Fastidious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fastidious. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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