fastidious

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fastidious

/fæsˈtɪdi.əs/
/fəsˈtɪdi.əs/

Rhymes with -ɪdiəs

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Latin fastīdiōsus (“passive: that feels disgust, disdainful, scornful, fastidious; active: that causes disgust, disgusting, loathsome”), from fastīdium (“a loathing, aversion, disgust, niceness of taste, daintiness, etc.”), perhaps for *fastutidium, from fastus (“disdain, haughtiness, arrogance, disgust”) + taedium (“disgust”). Cf. French fastidieux.

adjective more fastidious · most fastidious

Excessively particular, demanding, or fussy about details, especially about tidiness and cleanliness. He had at first tried to clean up as they ate, his fastidious nature kicking in, but Chris had told him to just stop, he was blocking the TV.
Similar: exacting, fussy, meticulous, niggly, pernickety
Overly concerned about tidiness and cleanliness. "If you are fastidious, clean previously used pots inside and out; if not, merely clean the outside (unless you are battling a pest infestation; then the inside will need scrubbing as well)."
Difficult to please; quick to find fault. You're too fastidious, and too indolent, and too rich.
of a microorganism Having precise requirements for nutrition and environment (chemical and physical); especially, being difficult to culture because of those requirements. fastidious organism

Thesaurus

adjective

Translations

Every language

adj overly concerned about tidiness and cleanliness

Español	maniático de/con/por la limpieza
Français	méticuleux
Deutsch	pingelig, penibel, übergenau, etepetete
Italiano	meticoloso, precisino
Русский	брезгли́вый brezglívyj

adj difficult to please

Español	escolimoso, descontentadizo, malcontentadizo, difícil de complacer
日本語	気難しい kimuzukashii, 好みのむずかしい konomi no muzukashii
中文	難取悅的 /难取悦的 nán qǔyuè de
Português	exigente
Français	exigeant
Deutsch	anspruchsvoll, wählerisch, kleinlich, mäkelig, zimperlich, eigen
Română	cusurgiu, mofturos
Русский	прихотли́вый prixotlívyj

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MLA

"fastidious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fastidious. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

fastidious. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fastidious

Chicago

"fastidious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fastidious.

BibTeX

@misc{fastidious_2026,
  title = {fastidious},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fastidious},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}