Fastidious Meaning
/fæsˈtɪdi.əs/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjExcessively particular, demanding, or fussy about details, especially about tidiness and cleanliness.
adjOverly concerned about tidiness and cleanliness.
Sentence Examples
Fastidious tastes will be most charmed with such verses as these.
He's very fastidious when it comes to booking trips.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ chef refused to serve any dish with a single misplaced garnish.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is very ____ about his appearance and spends a lot of time choosing the perfect outfit.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2003, Lynsay Sands, Single White Vampire:
"As she cleaned the room daily, she knew it was against his fastidious nature to bring or have food in his room."
— 2004, Maria Osborne Perr, Ravished Wings:
"His fastidious nature had been evident in his careful snipping of a customer's hair and now he guided his pencil with the same adroitness."
— 2008, Robert Fisher, Memory Road:
""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).""
— 2010, Debra Lee Baldwin, Succulent Container Gardens: Design Eye-Catching Displays with 350 Easy-Care ...:
"You're too fastidious, and too indolent, and too rich."
— 1908, Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady (The Novels and Tales of Henry James), New York edition, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC; republished as The Portrait of a Lady (EBook #283), United States: Project Gutenberg, 1 September 2001:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ chef refused to serve any dish with a single misplaced garnish.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is very ____ about his appearance and spends a lot of time choosing the perfect outfit.