as in careful
hard to please
an Oxford don who's definitely a pernickety old chap
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Recent Examples of pernickety
Perhaps this pernickety attention to detail is just the next logical step after years of falsification?
—
Raven Smith, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2020
Raven Smith, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pernickety
Adjective
-
Watch out for slippery roads: Be extra careful during the first half hour after rain begins.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
25 May 2025
-
Many participants with conflicting ideologies also reported cohabiting peacefully for the most part, while being careful not to bring up divisive topics and focus on their similarities instead.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Adjective
-
Switching brands is easy, and customers are more finicky than ever.—
Shep Hyken,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
-
But the spring portal can also be particularly finicky.—
Ryan Kartje,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
What would the notoriously persnickety Corbitt say about those bold additions?—
Libby Monteith Minor,
Southern Living,
17 May 2025
-
Jonathan Pryce plays the persnickety headmaster who prefers to keep politics outside the school walls.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
12 Sep. 2024
Adjective
-
Upon arrival, visitors can take a leisurely stroll along the shoreline and bask in the beauty of the many palm trees, while tiny fish and crustaceans can be found thriving within its natural rock pools—but there’s one animal in particular that draws visitors to Punaluʻu Beach in droves.—
Jared Ranahan,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
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For this particular piece, the author has considerable direct experience in using some of these models as well as many other similar camera models, adding further credence to the pros and cons of each camera's performance.—
Damian Peach,
Space.com,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
Denim, in general, is one of the most effective ways to make an outfit look less fussy and more lived-in.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
People.com,
21 May 2025
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Society has called these people fussy, or in more recent times, metrosexual.—
Dave Schilling,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2025
Adjective
-
The Braves are not in a position to be picky about defense.—
Lee Habeeb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Apr. 2025
-
Sometimes gratitude came easily, such as when Deb helped their kids, who were picky eaters, become more adventurous.—
Rhaina Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2025
Adjective
-
In the past several weeks, President Donald Trump, who has never been fastidious about separating public and private business, has been involved in a remarkable number of potential conflicts of interest.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
16 May 2025
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In Experiment City, scientific progress and a collective ethos have had counterintuitive social consequences: Citizens occupy uniform studio apartments, becoming increasingly insular and fastidious about the cleanness of their bodies.—
Madeleine Feeny,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Additionally, ensuring data accuracy and integrity within compliance features, especially for reporting and audit trails, can be technically demanding and prone to errors if not carefully managed.—
Suresh Kannan,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
-
Any number of left-leaning columnists at prestigious media outlets tried to bat down the rumors that Biden’s visible aging (as manifested both physically and mentally) was compromising his credibility as a viable candidate for perhaps the most demanding job in the world.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pernickety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pernickety. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
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