Word of the Day

: February 13, 2022

fastidious

adjective fass-TID-ee-us

What It Means

Fastidious means "showing extreme care when doing something." Less commonly, it may be used to describe a person who is difficult to please.

// The handbags have clearly been made with fastidious attention to detail.

// The quality of food and service at the restaurant should appeal to even the most fastidious diner.

See the entry >

fastidious in Context

"Curran kept fastidious notes on woolly-bear coloration in an attempt to link them to weather patterns." — Jim McCormac, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 2 Jan. 2022

Did You Know?

Fastidious comes from Latin fastidium, meaning "aversion" or "disgust." Fastidium is believed to be a combination of fastus, meaning "arrogance," and taedium, "irksomeness" or "disgust." (Taedium is also the source of tedium and tedious.) In keeping with its Latin roots, fastidious once meant "haughty," "disgusting," and "disagreeable," but the word is now most often applied to people who are very meticulous or overly difficult to please, or to work which reflects a demanding or precise attitude.