persnickety

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per·snick·e·ty

(pər-snĭk′ĭ-tē)

adj.

a. Overparticular about trivial details; fastidious.

b. Snobbish; pretentious.

2. Requiring strict attention to detail; demanding: a persnickety job.

[Alteration of pernickety.]

per·snick′e·ti·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

persnickety

(pəˈsnɪkɪtɪ)

adj

the US word for pernickety

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

per•snick•et•y

(pərˈsnɪk ɪ ti)

also pernickety

adj. Informal.

1. excessively particular; fussy.

2. requiring painstaking care.

[1885–90; orig. Scots, variant of pernickety]

per•snick′et•i•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	persnickety - (used colloquially) overly conceited or arrogant; "a snotty little scion of a degenerate family"-Laurent Le Sage; "they're snobs--stuck-up and uppity and persnickety" bigheaded, snooty, snot-nosed, snotty, stuck-up, too big for one's breeches, uppish proud - feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride; "proud parents"; "proud of his accomplishments"; "a proud moment"; "proud to serve his country"; "a proud name"; "proud princes"
	2.	persnickety - characterized by excessive precision and attention to trivial details; "a persnickety job"; "a persnickety school teacher" pernickety fastidious - giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness; "a fastidious and incisive intellect"; "fastidious about personal cleanliness"

persnickety

adjective

Very difficult to please:

choosy, dainty, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicky, fussy, meticulous, nice, particular, squeamish.

Informal: picky.

Translations

persnickety

adj (US inf) → pingelig (inf); (= tricky, delicate) work, point → heikel

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in periodicals archive ?

Naga said: "But there's a difference, without being too persnickety, there is a difference between unconscious biased and outright racism isn't there?

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In the coming seasons, while she struggles to stay relevant as she ushers in her golden years, Mariah, dubbed the biggest-selling artist of all time, will need to do more wooing-not for a duplicitous lover, but for the music biz's increasingly persnickety fans.

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Jenna's biggest fan is Joe (a fine Larry Marshall), the diner's persnickety, elderly owner.

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In this, the British royal family has proven more accepting than the persnickety and self-righteous in-laws of the Pakistani variety.

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Fast-paced and funny throughout--thanks in part to a great supporting cast that includes Tony Shalhoub as the persnickety patriarch of Midge's family and Alex Borstein as her acerbic, androgynous manager Susie--the show captures some of the energy that creator Amy Sherman-Palladino brought to Gilmore Girls, without the saccharine self-satisfaction.

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Indeed, Stamets begins his story arc with a "persnickety" attitude--Harberts used the same term--particularly toward the show's antihero, Lt.

Where no man Has Gone Before: Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz make history playing the first queer couple in Star Trek's TV universe, becoming the heroes we've all longed for

The CEA's persnickety insistence on this nondescript acronym reminds me of the way a cable network once known as The Learning Channel was redubbed TLC.

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Her topics are Kashefi composes the Anvar-e Sohayli, being persnickety about "animal fables," the biggest bees in Kashefi's bonnet: a thematic analysis, building appreciation for "tasteless bombast," topical web and structural maze, the skeleton, and collaborative effort: the "noble" heredity line of Kalileh o-Demneh versions and translations in the Persian tradition.

Kashefi's Anvar-e Sohayli: Rewriting Kalila and Dimna in Timurid Herat

Having now joined forces with two local businesses, Miss Persnickety and BeanVintage, Clare repairs, restores and rejuvenates handbags, leather goods, shoes and clothes from a small studio.