persnickety

adjective

per·snick·e·ty pər-ˈsni-kə-tē

Synonyms of persnickety next

: fussy about small details : fastidious

a persnickety teacher

: having the characteristics of a snob

: requiring great precision

a persnickety job

persnicketiness

pər-ˈsni-kə-tē-nəs

noun

Did you know?

Persnickety people like things neat and tidy, but the etymology of persnickety doesn't provide the kind of clean, clear explanation that appeals to the fastidious. Persnickety was first documented in English in the late 19th century as an alteration of pernickety, a word that has the same meaning. Pernickety goes back to the early 1800s, but from there, the word's history gets messy. Some say pernickety might be from a child's version of particular; others, that the nick part came from association with knick-knack. Or perhaps the Latin prefix per-, meaning "thoroughly," played a role. But it's all conjecture-no one knows for sure.

Examples of persnickety in a Sentence

as she got older, she got more and more persnickety lacked the patience to deal with such persnickety tasks as hanging wallpaper

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Jonathan Pryce plays the persnickety headmaster who prefers to keep politics outside the school walls. —

Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2024 Kurkdjian’s policies as head of the department reflect both a persnickety attention to detail and an obsession with creative autonomy. —

Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024 But even with Ed Begley onboard as a doctor with tenuous ties to his Hippocratic oath, Elizabeth Perkins steals the show playing Funkhouser’s persnickety new flame, Marilyn. —

Larry Fitzmaurice, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2024 Others are patently unsuitable, notably a persnickety couple who prompt one of John’s rare outbursts of frustration with the process. —

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024 Working in visual effects had given him a persnickety lens on the world. —

Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024 The more persnickety ones bemoan the product for dumbing down product creation and flooding the hobbyist market with lackluster goods. —

IEEE Spectrum, 26 Oct. 2011 All are notoriously persnickety when evaluating food prepared by the contestants, and the bar for excellence rises as the season progresses. —

Mary Colurso | McOlurso@al.com, al, 13 Sep. 2023 But Wilson is in his comfort zone as ever with Anderson, playing Francis’s persnickety dedication to the trip’s itinerary with his typical generosity. —

Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 June 2023