Fastidious
Coffee people, cat people, and line editors share a relationship with small details that looks picky until the result is clean.
Learn This WordMeaning
Very attentive to detail and accuracy; hard to please; overly concerned with cleanliness or order.
Memory trick
FAST-IDIOUS: sounds like fussy about every little thing, "fast" to spot flaws.
Examples
She is fastidious about code style, which keeps the repo consistent.
The fastidious editor caught every inconsistency in the manuscript.
He grew fastidious about hygiene after working in a lab.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin fastidiosus "disdainful, squeamish," from fastidium "disgust, loathing."
Usage Notes
Can be praise (careful) or mild criticism (fussy). Tone depends on context.
Real-life contexts
Praise craft: "Your fastidious review saved us from a bad release."
Give feedback gently: "We don’t need to be fastidious about fonts here."
Describe habits: "He’s fastidious with naming conventions."
Common Mistakes
Fastidious is about standards and detail, not speed. Don’t confuse with "fast."
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Start LearningQuick Facts
Part of Speech
adjective
Difficulty
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