anal
anal Lexical Profile
anal Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, situated near, or involving the anus.
"The veterinarian examined the dog's anal glands during the routine checkup."
(informal) Excessively orderly, fussy, and meticulous to the point of being annoying; anal-retentive.
"He is so anal about organizing his bookshelf that every volume is arranged by both genre and exact height."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse with 'annal' (usu. plural 'annals'), which refers to a chronological record of historical events. In informal contexts, 'anal' is a clipped form of the psychoanalytic term 'anal-retentive' and describes someone who is excessively fussy about details.
• Rhymes for anal
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the late 16th century from Modern Latin analis, derived from Latin anus (literally 'ring'). The psychological and informal personality sense emerged in the early 20th century from Freudian psychoanalytic theory regarding the anal stage of infant development.