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fusspot

fusspot

1 9.5
A person who worries about small details and wants everything neat
  • noun
  • /ˈfʌsˌpɒt/
  • Informal
translation icon : quisquilloso
  • Whenever we plan a trip, my sister's a total fusspot, stressing over every single aspect.

Examples

  • Message: If a child does not eat protein, carbs, and fat in a given meal, he will be a whiny fusspot and make you rip your hair out.

    Blog text (20)
  • He tends to worry over small details, making him a real fusspot at the office.

  • Oh, you are a fusspot!

  • Or was she just a fusspot?

    Fiction book (1997)
  • It started with my little fusspot not sleeping.

    Blog text (21)
  • - Well, it's slime or bedtime, fusspot.

  • Even the old lawyers, like her father, had to admit he was doing excellent work, though some of the fusspots, threatened of course, wouldn't admit it and would begrudge Picasso a fountain pen.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • My friend is such a fusspot about keeping everything perfectly organized in her closet.

Synonyms

worrier
vsfusspot
8 3.2

A person who often feels nervous about small problems

also focuses on small details and being particular, not only general anxiety
worrywart
vsfusspot
  • Informal
5 8.2

A person who often feels anxious about small or unlikely problems

is more about being particular about small details as well as anxious
pedant
vsfusspot
  • Offensive
2 8.6

A person who cares too much about small rules and corrects others often

focuses more on rules or showing knowledge rather than anxious particularity
fussbudget
vsfusspot
  • Informal
1 8.8

A person who often complains about small, not important things

focuses more on worry about possible future problems than on mere complaining
nitpicker
vsfusspot
1 6.9

A person who often points out very small mistakes and complains about them

adds anxious worry about future problems to mere fault finding
obsessive
vsfusspot
1 6.5

A person who thinks about one thing too much in a way that harms them

is narrower, focusing on small detail anxiety rather than any single preoccupation
niggler
vsfusspot
  • UK
1 9.9

A person who complains a lot about small details

combines such complaining with anxiety about possible problems and small risks
fuss-budget
vsfusspot
  • Informal
9.9

A person who worries about small things for no reason

combines being particular about small details with anxiety over possible problems
botherer
vsfusspot
7.7

A person who worries a lot about small things

focuses specifically on tiny details and possible problems rather than general upset
angst bunny
vsfusspot
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who worries too much about small imagined problems

places more emphasis on being particular about details and potential problems
tweak freak
vsfusspot
  • Informal
9.9

A person who keeps making small changes to make things better

is more about repeatedly changing things than worrying about possible problems
rivet counter
vsfusspot
  • Jargon
8.9

A person who cares too much about small unimportant details in a hobby or project

is narrower, applying mainly to technical hobby detail rather than general anxiety
trivialist
vsfusspot
9.8

A person who treats big problems as unimportant and focuses on small details

is mainly anxious about small details and possible problems rather than dismissing importance

Surface Forms

fusspot singular
fusspots plural

Morphology

fusspot = fuss + pot (transparent) = fuss + pot

The meaning 'a person who fusses' is directly recoverable from 'fuss' combined with a colloquial second element indicating a person, so learners who know 'fuss' can infer the sense.

Etymology

Fusspot comes from fuss ('small worry or complaint') plus the ending -pot, a friendly name part — picture a pot bubbling over with little worries. So a fusspot is someone who makes a big deal of small details.