fastidious
fastidious Lexical Profile
fastidious Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy, detail, or cleanliness.
"The watchmaker was fastidious in his craft, inspecting every tiny gear under a magnifying glass."
Excessively critical, selective, or difficult to please.
"Even the most fastidious food critics praised the chef's innovative tasting menu."
Requiring complex, specific nutritional or environmental conditions in order to grow and survive (of a microorganism).
"Culturing fastidious bacteria in the laboratory requires specialized growth media enriched with specific vitamins and amino acids."
• Rhymes for fastidious
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 15th century from Latin fastidiosus ('squeamish, disdainful'), derived from fastidium ('loathing, aversion'). Over time, the meaning softened from feeling physical disgust to being exceedingly particular about details and cleanliness.