Definitions for: Fastidious


[adj] giving and careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness; "a fastidious and incisive intellect"; "fastidious about personal cleanliness"
[adj] (microbiology) having complicated nutritional requirements; especially growing only in special artificial cultures; "fastidious microorganisms"; "certain highly specialized xerophytes are extremely exacting in their requirements"



Webster (1913) Definition: Fas*tid"i*ous, a. [L. fastidiosus disdainful, fr.
fastidium loathing, aversion, perh. fr. fastus arrogance (of
uncertain origin) + taedium loathing. Cf. Tedious, Fash.]
Difficult to please; delicate to a fault; suited with
difficulty; squeamish; as, a fastidious mind or ear; a
fastidious appetite.

Proud youth ! fastidious of the lower world. --Young.

Syn: Squeamish; critical; overnice; difficult; punctilious.


Usage: Fastidious, Squeamish. We call a person fastidious
when his taste or feelings are offended by trifling
defects or errors; we call him squeamish when he is
excessively nice or critical on minor points, and also
when he is overscrupulous as to questions of duty.
``Whoever examines his own imperfections will cease to
be fastidious; whoever restrains his caprice and
scrupulosity will cease to be squeamish.'' --Crabb. --
Fas*tid"i*ous*ly, adv. -- Fas*tid"i*ous*ness, n.

Synonyms: choosey, choosy, dainty, exacting, finical, finicky, fussy, meticulous, nice, old-maidish, old-womanish, overnice, particular, pernickety, persnickety, picky, prissy, squeamish

Antonyms: unfastidious

See Also: refined, tidy

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