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fastidious

25 synonyms and 9 antonyms for fastidious, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adj — Extremely careful about small details, especially cleanliness and order; hard to please.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

anal-retentive choosy exacting dainty finical finicking finickity finicky finikin fussy hypercritical lily-handed meticulous niggly nitpickish nit-picky nitty overscrupulous overcritical pedantic pernickety persnickety picky

Antonyms

careless noncritical nonfastidious sloppy unconscientious unfastidious uncritical unfussy unmeticulous

How to use fastidious

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

fastidious about detail fastidiously clean fastidious eater

Etymology

From Latin fastidiosus ("disdainful, squeamish"), from fastidium ("disgust, distaste").

Full origin of fastidious →

Frequently asked questions

What does “fastidious” mean?

The word “fastidious” means extremely careful about small details, especially cleanliness and order; hard to please. In plain terms, extremely fussy and precise about details, order, or cleanliness.

How do you pronounce “fastidious”?

“Fastidious” is pronounced fas-TIH-dee-uhs (/fæsˈtɪdi.əs/ in IPA).

How do you use “fastidious” in a sentence?

Here is “fastidious” used in a sentence: “She was fastidious about keeping her desk perfectly organised.”

What is another word for “fastidious”?

Words with a similar meaning to “fastidious” include anal-retentive, choosy, conscientious, exacting, dainty and finical.

What is the opposite of “fastidious”?

The opposite of “fastidious” — its antonyms — are careless, noncritical, nonfastidious, sloppy and unconscientious.

What part of speech is “fastidious”?

“Fastidious” is an adjective.

Where does the word “fastidious” come from?

The word “fastidious” comes from Latin. From Latin fastidiosus ("disdainful, squeamish"), from fastidium ("disgust, distaste").

How many meanings does “fastidious” have?

“Fastidious” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: extremely careful about small details, especially cleanliness and order; hard to please.

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Synonyms and antonyms from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.