fastidious
- Very attentive to accuracy, detail, and cleanliness; difficult to please because of high or precise standards.
- In biology, describing an organism with very specific and demanding nutritional or environmental requirements.
In a sentence
- She was fastidious about her research, cross-checking every statistic before publishing.
- The fastidious chef rejected the produce because a few leaves were slightly wilted.
Usage note. Fastidious can be complimentary (admirably thorough) or mildly critical (overly fussy), depending on context and tone.
Where it comes from
English fastidious · entered English 15th c.
From Latin fastidiosus ('disdainful, squeamish'), derived from fastidium ('loathing, disgust'), possibly from fastus ('arrogance') combined with taedium ('weariness'). It entered English in the 15th century initially meaning 'scornful,' and the modern sense of meticulous carefulness developed by the 17th century.