fastidious
adjective
fas·tid·i·ous
fa-ˈsti-dē-əs 
fə-
1
a
of a person's work, approach, etc.
: extremely or excessively careful or detailed
fastidious research
scenes drawn in fastidious detail
… he took fastidious care of his cars.—
Marga Lincoln
Marga Lincoln… his fastidious approach to tasks—making detailed, several-page lists on yellow pads …—Josh Dawsey et al.
Josh Dawsey et al.… her fastidious—but never fussy—prose …—Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus ReviewsBut many food poisoning outbreaks are complicated. Some are never solved. Cracking them is fastidious work.—Lynne Terry
Lynne TerryJust as famous was the 1965 Jaguar [guitar] he played, which Fender has recreated with fastidious attention to detail.—spin.com
spin.com
b
of a person or trait
: characterized by a meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude
a fastidious dresser/eater
… a collector with fastidious taste.—Martin Chulov
Martin ChulovTrue to her fastidious nature, Peretti hand-selected all of the stones included in the collections …—Misty White Sidell
: such as
Misty White Sidell
(1)
: having high and often capricious standards
… critics … so fastidious that they can talk only to a small circle of initiates.—Granville Hicks
Granville Hicks
(2)
: characterized by extreme or excessive concern about cleanliness or neatness
a fastidious housekeeper
But in the hazy panic of the time, many people had already taken up fastidious habits: quarantining packages at the door, bleaching boxes of cereal brought back from the store, wearing hospital booties outdoors.—Gregory Barber
Gregory BarberDisorder and dirt filled the rough cabin, or so it seemed to her fastidious eye.—William MacLeod Raine
William MacLeod Raine2
: having complex nutritional requirements
fastidious microorganisms
3
archaic
: scornful
fastidiously
adverb
fastidiousness
noun
Did you know?
Fastidious Has a Disgusting Past
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.
Synonyms
Examples of fastidious in a Sentence
My mother had always been the most fastidious and organized of people—a wet ring left on her coffee table by a glass could drive her to distraction.
—John B. Judis, New Republic, 14 Oct. 1996
"I'll stop off and get us a sandwich," said Matthew. … Tony, a fastidious eater, sighed.
—Penelope Lively, City of the Mind, 1991
Though he prides himself on being hip, he is too fastidious to do anything dangerous or dirty.
—Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City, 1984
He is fastidious about keeping the house clean.
She was too fastidious to do anything that might get her dirty.
John B. Judis, New Republic, 14 Oct. 1996
"I'll stop off and get us a sandwich," said Matthew. … Tony, a fastidious eater, sighed.
—Penelope Lively, City of the Mind, 1991
Though he prides himself on being hip, he is too fastidious to do anything dangerous or dirty.
—Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City, 1984
He is fastidious about keeping the house clean.
She was too fastidious to do anything that might get her dirty.
Recent Examples on the Web
No — your daughter is being overly fastidious, as daughters sometimes are.
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
The labs of the Middle East have never been as fastidious as the Bulgarian ones were about copying captagon.
—Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
And yet, Maria remains so fastidious with its main character, as well as the actor playing her, unwilling to admit that there might be something as pleasurable as there is tragic about the spectacle of an opera star tearing apart her dressing room in search of a few last Quaaludes.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
Hidden behind these very recognisable visual stylings, however, is Burton’s fastidious world building.
—Tacita Quinn, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fastidious 
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Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
The labs of the Middle East have never been as fastidious as the Bulgarian ones were about copying captagon.
—Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
And yet, Maria remains so fastidious with its main character, as well as the actor playing her, unwilling to admit that there might be something as pleasurable as there is tragic about the spectacle of an opera star tearing apart her dressing room in search of a few last Quaaludes.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
Hidden behind these very recognisable visual stylings, however, is Burton’s fastidious world building.
—Tacita Quinn, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fastidious
Articles Related to fastidious
Dictionary Entries Near fastidious
Cite this Entry
“Fastidious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fastidious. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fastidious
adjective
fas·tid·i·ous
fa-ˈstid-ē-əs
: hard to please : very particular
fastidiously
adverb
fastidiousness
noun
Medical Definition
fastidious
adjective
fas·tid·i·ous
fa-ˈstid-ē-əs, fə-
: having complex nutritional requirements
fastidious microorganisms
—used of bacteria that grow only in specially fortified artificial culture media
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