as in careful
hard to please
an Oxford don who's definitely a pernickety old chap
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Recent Examples of pernickety
Perhaps this pernickety attention to detail is just the next logical step after years of falsification?
—
Raven Smith, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2020
Raven Smith, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pernickety
Adjective
-
The best way to attain them during this conjunction of Venus and Saturn in your financial zone would be to set careful guardrails around your spending.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
8 Mar. 2026
-
No amount of sweeping or careful stepping keeps it at bay; shoes quickly collect a film of dust or thick mud.—
Katie Strasberg Rousso,
Southern Living,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Solving the dead zone issue Laser communication is finicky.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Fruit trees, in particular, can be quite finicky and difficult to manage.—
Emily Hayes,
Martha Stewart,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Francesca’s pinnacle Once a Regency world has implied there’s mass print culture capable of speedy and pervasive distribution of colored images, something as persnickety as vocabulary is probably beside the point.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
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What’s more, some species are so persnickety that even low-water activity media won’t do the trick consistently.—
Elizabeth Anne Brown,
Scientific American,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
There, Yanxiao began to realize how particular Liu’s approach to antiquity was.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The combination of the imagery and the operational context has prompted particular interest in the distinctive markings visible on the bombs, which differ from those typically seen on standard JDAM configurations.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Our picks from Revo, Ray-Ban and Oakley offer a sporty look for men who eschew fussy styles in lieu of tried-and-true frames.—
Kelsey Legg,
ABC News,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The rooms The 132 rooms (including nine suites and a presidential suite) feel airy, soothing, and upscale without veering fussy.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
This weeknight chicken recipe will please picky eaters and seasoned cooks alike.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Cuyana’s System Zipper Tote is another favorite among picky InStyle shopping editors.—
Kyra Surgent,
InStyle,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
His wizardry was displayed Sunday in fastidious massaging of volumes, sonorities and interplays, always with an undercurrent of urgency.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Mar. 2026
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But Ann was famously fastidious.—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The base model starts at $1,599, while the higher-end Studio Display XDR starts at $3,299 and adds features aimed at more demanding professional use cases, including higher brightness, mini-LED backlighting and a faster refresh rate.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
3 Mar. 2026
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Or in the dancer Mira Nadon, whose body contains a natural shadow, revealing a tension between musical dissonance and the relentlessly demanding and athletic steps she is pushed to perform.—
Jennifer Homans,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pernickety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pernickety. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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