fussy

1 given to complaining a lot predictably, the kids riding in the back were fussy passengers, always asking “Are we there yet?” Synonyms crabby, cranky, grouchy, grumpy, querulous Related Words antsy, fidgety, restive, restless, squirmy, twitchy, uneasy, wiggly, wriggly; discontented, disgruntled, displeased, dissatisfied; fretful, nervous, worrisome; cantankerous, choleric, cross, crotchety, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, perverse, pettish, petulant, quick-tempered, short-tempered, snappish, snappy, snippy, testy, waspish Near Antonyms affable, agreeable, amiable, genial, good-humored, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, well-disposed; accommodating, complaisant, obliging; easygoing, laid-back, relaxed Antonyms forbearing, long-suffering, patient, stoic (or stoical), tolerant, uncomplaining

2 hard to please cats have a well-deserved reputation for being fussy eaters Synonyms choosy (or choosey), dainty, delicate, demanding, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicking, fussbudgety, finicky, nice, old-maidish, particular, pernickety [chiefly British], persnickety, pickyRelated Words 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 affable, breezy, carefree, devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky, lackadaisical, laid-back, low-pressure, relaxed; flexible, lax, loose; lenient, permissive; uncritical; indiscriminating, undiscriminatingAntonyms undemanding, unfastidious, unfussy

3 taking, showing, or involving great care and effort a fussy teacher who reads through papers two and even three times before issuing a grade Synonyms careful, conscientious, painstaking, loving, meticulous, scrupulousRelated Words assiduous, diligent, indefatigable, persevering, sedulous; exhaustive, thorough, thoroughgoing; alert, attentive, observant, vigilant, watchful; accurate, exact, precise, strict; critical, demanding, discriminating, exacting, fastidious, finicky, particular; cautious, chary, circumspect, gingerly, guarded, heedful, mindful, wary; deliberate, plodding, slow; studied, thoughtful; all-out, determined, dogged, intensive, patient, tenacious, tireless, zealousNear Antonyms cursory, halfhearted; heedless, inattentive, incautious, mindless, regardless, unguarded, unsafe, unwary; lax, neglectful, negligent, slipshod, sloppy, slovenly; imprecise; inaccurate, uncritical, undemanding, undiscriminating; bold, impetuous, rash, reckless; apathetic, indifferent, lackadaisical, lazy, lazyishAntonyms careless

4 elaborately and often excessively decorated the room, with its rococo furniture and its overabundance of knickknacks, is just too fussy for my taste Synonyms bedizened, florid, ornate, gingerbread, gingerbreaded, gingerbready, overdecorated, overwroughtRelated Words arabesque, baroque, rococo; extravagant, flamboyant, spectacular, splashy; bedaubed, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, loud, ostentatious, pretentious, showy, swank (or swanky), tawdry; elaborate, extreme; adorned, arrayed, beautified, bedecked, decked, decorated, dressed, embellished, enriched, garnished, ornamented, trimmed; flowery, frilly, lacy; enhanced, heightened, intensified; bejeweled (or bejewelled), bossed, chased, emblazoned, embossed, embroidered, flounced, fringed, garlanded, gilded (or gilt), laced, sequined (or sequinned), wreathedNear Antonyms bare, denuded, exposed, naked, stripped, uncovered; modest, simple, unassuming, unpretentious; conservative, muted, quiet, restrained, subdued, tasteful, toned-down, understated, unobtrusiveAntonyms austere, plain, severe, stark, unadorned