high-maintenance

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high-maintenance

Where it comes from

According to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the figurative sense was popularized by the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally....

adjective more high-maintenance · most high-maintenance

of a system Requiring a high degree of maintenance to ensure proper functioning, and without which it is likely to break down.
derogatory, figuratively, of a person Requiring a lot of attention or reassurance; emotionally needy He has this incredibly high-maintenance girlfriend; if he doesn't tell her that he loves her every five minutes, she tends to break down into hysterical depressive weepy fits.

Opposite: low-maintenance

Thesaurus

adjective

Opposite: low-maintenance

Translations

Every language

adj requiring a high degree of maintenance to ensure proper functioning, and without which it is likely to break down

Русский	тре́бующий постоя́нного ухо́да trébujuščij postojánnovo uxóda

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MLA

"high-maintenance." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/high-maintenance. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{high_maintenance_2026,
  title = {high-maintenance},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/high-maintenance},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}