Synonyms and Antonyms of fussy
1 given to complaining a lot <predictably, the kids riding in the back were fussy passengers, always asking “Are we there yet?”> Synonyms crabby, cranky, grouchy, grumpy, querulous Related Words antsy, fidgety, restive, restless, squirmy, twitchy, uneasy, wiggly, wriggly; discontented, disgruntled, displeased, dissatisfied; fretful, nervous, worrisome; cantankerous, choleric, cross, crotchety, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, perverse, pettish, petulant, quick-tempered, short-tempered, snappish, snappy, snippy, testy, waspish Near Antonyms affable, agreeable, amiable, genial, good-humored, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, well-disposed; accommodating, complaisant, obliging; easygoing, laid-back, relaxed Antonyms forbearing, long-suffering, patient, stoic (or stoical), tolerant, uncomplaining
2 hard to please <cats have a well-deserved reputation for being fussy eaters> Synonyms choosy (or choosey), dainty, delicate, demanding, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicking, fussbudgety, finicky, nice, old-maidish, particular, pernickety [chiefly British], persnickety, pickyRelated Words hyperfastidious, overdemanding, ultrafastidious; discerning, discriminating, selective; insightful, knowledgeable; captious, carping, caviling (or cavilling), critical, faultfinding, hypercritical, overcritical; careful, meticulous, painstaking, punctilious, scrupulous; queasy (also queazy), squeamish; peevish, petulant, prickly, touchy; niminy-piminy, prim, prissyNear Antonyms affable, breezy, carefree, devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky, lackadaisical, laid-back, low-pressure, relaxed; flexible, lax, loose; lenient, permissive; uncritical; indiscriminating, undiscriminatingAntonyms undemanding, unfastidious, unfussy
3 taking, showing, or involving great care and effort <a fussy teacher who reads through papers two and even three times before issuing a grade> Synonyms careful, conscientious, painstaking, loving, meticulous, scrupulousRelated Words assiduous, diligent, indefatigable, persevering, sedulous; exhaustive, thorough, thoroughgoing; alert, attentive, observant, vigilant, watchful; accurate, exact, precise, strict; critical, demanding, discriminating, exacting, fastidious, finicky, particular; cautious, chary, circumspect, gingerly, guarded, heedful, mindful, wary; deliberate, plodding, slow; studied, thoughtful; all-out, determined, dogged, intensive, patient, tenacious, tireless, zealousNear Antonyms cursory, halfhearted; heedless, inattentive, incautious, mindless, regardless, unguarded, unsafe, unwary; lax, neglectful, negligent, slipshod, sloppy, slovenly; imprecise; inaccurate, uncritical, undemanding, undiscriminating; bold, impetuous, rash, reckless; apathetic, indifferent, lackadaisical, lazy, lazyishAntonyms careless
4 elaborately and often excessively decorated <the room, with its rococo furniture and its overabundance of knickknacks, is just too fussy for my taste> Synonyms bedizened, florid, ornate, gingerbread, gingerbreaded, gingerbready, overdecorated, overwroughtRelated Words arabesque, baroque, rococo; extravagant, flamboyant, spectacular, splashy; bedaubed, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, loud, ostentatious, pretentious, showy, swank (or swanky), tawdry; elaborate, extreme; adorned, arrayed, beautified, bedecked, decked, decorated, dressed, embellished, enriched, garnished, ornamented, trimmed; flowery, frilly, lacy; enhanced, heightened, intensified; bejeweled (or bejewelled), bossed, chased, emblazoned, embossed, embroidered, flounced, fringed, garlanded, gilded (or gilt), laced, sequined (or sequinned), wreathedNear Antonyms bare, denuded, exposed, naked, stripped, uncovered; modest, simple, unassuming, unpretentious; conservative, muted, quiet, restrained, subdued, tasteful, toned-down, understated, unobtrusiveAntonyms austere, plain, severe, stark, unadorned
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