fussy
Americanadjective
-
excessively busy with trifles; anxious or particular about petty details.
-
hard to satisfy or please.
a fussy eater.
- Synonyms:
- persnickety, finicky, choosy, particular
-
(of clothes, decoration, etc.) elaborately made, trimmed, or decorated.
All the bric-a-brac gave the room a fussy, cluttered look.
-
full of details, especially in excess.
His writing is so fussy I lose the thread of the story.
adjective
-
inclined to fuss over minor points
-
very particular about detail
-
characterized by overelaborate detail
the furniture was too fussy to be elegant
Other Word Forms
- fussily adverb
- fussiness noun
- overfussy adjective
- unfussily adverb
- unfussiness noun
- unfussy adjective
Etymology
Origin of fussy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A little retro, fancy but never fussy, shrimp cocktail is festive food guests go ga-ga for.
“Children who are dehydrated may cry with few or no tears and be unusually sleepy or fussy,” the CDC says.
From Los Angeles Times
That style also means that “Dust Bunny” is quite fussy and mannered and if you don’t buy in on the film’s arch humor and stylized world, you’re liable to bounce right off of it.
From Los Angeles Times
But it feels like there’s a fussy iguana in there.
From Literature
It’s a little fussier than the diner original — with a bright, spicy tuna salad made with Calabrian chili mayo and caramelized shallots, plus gooey Fontina — but the payoff is pure, molten bliss.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.