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Synonyms

fussy

American  
[fuhs-ee] / ˈfʌs i /

adjective

fussier, fussiest

  1. excessively busy with trifles; anxious or particular about petty details.

  2. hard to satisfy or please.

    a fussy eater.
    Synonyms:
    persnickety, finicky, choosy, particular

  3. (of clothes, decoration, etc.) elaborately made, trimmed, or decorated.

    All the bric-a-brac gave the room a fussy, cluttered look.

  4. full of details, especially in excess.

    His writing is so fussy I lose the thread of the story.
fussy British  
/ ˈfʌsɪ /

adjective

  1. inclined to fuss over minor points

  2. very particular about detail

  3. characterized by overelaborate detail

    the furniture was too fussy to be elegant
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • fussily adverb
  • fussiness noun
  • overfussy adjective
  • unfussily adverb
  • unfussiness noun
  • unfussy adjective

Etymology

Origin of fussy

First recorded in 1825–35; fuss + -y 1

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.