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persnickety

persnickety

4 9.8
Being very picky about small details
  • adjective
  • /pərˈsnɪkəti/
  • Informal
translation icon : meticuloso
  • They were all so fussy and persnickety about everything.

But it, it is important to note that people like me, scientist types, do get very persnickety about words because they matter and they have meaning.

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Examples

  • Then yeah, I'd get pretty persnickety as well.

    Blog text (22)
  • Why are you being so persnickety?

  • I understand it appears I am being persnickety by pointing out these minor problems.

    Blog text (25)
  • I mean, look, you can get super persnickety about this stuff, but you don't have to be.

  • I am not trying to be persnickety, but do you have any phobias?

    Blog text (24)
  • Everybody is persnickety about whether 13 is lucky or unlucky.

    Blog text (24)
  • Some individuals are most persnickety about their long-term associations.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Even the most persnickety old-timers on the island agreed that Maggie and Grant had done a great job with the house.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Putting aside that his circumstances suggest ample grounds for legitimate rage, the guy is rather persnickety about messes.

    Blog text (29)
  • She was so persnickety about her wardrobe that she would only wear outfits with matching accessories.

Synonyms

particular
vspersnickety
106 4.4

Careful about small details and hard to please

is often focused on trivial or petty details rather than carefulness
picky
vspersnickety
67 4.7

Being hard to please about food or small details

is fussy about trivial points rather than just choosing preferred items
meticulous
vspersnickety
58 8.6

Being very careful about small details

is more about excessive focus on trivial points rather than carefulness
fussy
vspersnickety
24 3.9

Easily annoyed and hard to please about small things

is the same idea but used more informally in speech
nitty
vspersnickety
  • Informal
16 7.4

Pays close attention to small details

is fussy about trivial points rather than practical essentials
prissy
vspersnickety
  • Informal
13 7.9

Too fussy about being neat and proper

is fussy but less about moral propriety or being easily shocked
pedantic
vspersnickety
13 8.1

Paying too much attention to small rules or details, often annoying others

is fussy about small everyday details rather than showing scholarly rules
finicky
vspersnickety
12 7.1

Hard to please and careful about small details

is fussier about small trivial things rather than reasonable needs
fastidious
vspersnickety
8 8.0

Very careful about small details and being clean, often hard to please

is fussy about small trivial details rather than cleanliness or accuracy
nitpicky
vspersnickety
  • Informal
4 7.9

Paying too much attention to small unimportant details and criticizing them

is concerned with small details but not mainly to criticize
picky about
vspersnickety
  • Informal
3 6.8

Careful about choosing things like clothes or food and hard to please

is more general fussiness not only limited to one choice
pernickety
vspersnickety
  • UK
9.4

Being very careful about small details in a way that annoys others

is the same meaning but is an alternate informal spelling
overly fussy
vspersnickety
6.1

Too worried about small details and hard to please

is similar but more often a short descriptive phrase
niggly
vspersnickety
  • UK
9.2

Paying too much attention to small, unimportant details

is fussy but less insulting or blunt when pointing out faults
picayunish
vspersnickety
  • Archaic
9.9

Giving too much attention to small, unimportant details

is similar but less focused on being petty or mean
pettifogging
vspersnickety
  • Archaic
9.9

Paying too much attention to small unimportant details that annoy other people

is fussy yet less tied to being deliberately annoying
hairsplitting
vspersnickety
8.1

Too focused on small unimportant details in a discussion

is fussy in everyday matters rather than argument detail
hair-splittingly precise
vspersnickety
  • Informal
8.1

Too careful about small details when it is not needed

is about being fussy over small matters not only extreme precision
finickety about
vspersnickety
9.1

Being very picky about small details when choosing or arranging things

is fussy generally not only when specific items are involved
finical
vspersnickety
9.9

Careful about small details and hard to please

is similar but used more informally in everyday speech
piccy
vspersnickety
  • UK
9.9

Careful and picky about small details and choices

is similar but the other term is used more widely in different situations
piccy about
vspersnickety
  • UK
9.9

Choosy about small details and what they accept

is broader fussiness not tied to acceptance or preference situations

Antonyms

41 2.9

Not feeling worried or responsible

22 2.6

Being calm and relaxed and not easily upset

How Fussy

fastidious
8 8.0
persnickety
  • Informal
4 9.8
fussy
24 3.9

Surface Forms

persnickety positive

Etymology

Persnickety probably started as a playful local word and is like the everyday words picky or nitpicky, which mean 'fussy about small things'. A helpful image is someone checking every tiny detail, so persnickety means being very particular and hard to please.