high-maintenance

adjective

high-main·​te·​nance ˈhī-ˈmānt-nən(t)s How to pronounce high-maintenance (audio)
-ˈmān-tə-nən(t)s
1
: requiring a large amount of care or maintenance
The high-maintenance "Dracula" orchid constantly needs high levels of humidity and cooler temperatures.Victoria Colliver
They can't even afford the high-maintenance hairdos, let alone the Adidas sweats.Gerri Hirshey
2
of a person : tending to cause problems or demand attention : extremely sensitive, demanding, or temperamental
Playing the victim gets you absolutely nowhere, and it only makes you seem tiring and high-maintenance to your boss.Cosmopolitan
Matthäus is the greatest German sweeper since Beckenbauer, but he's high-maintenance. At various times in his career, he has accused a ref of taking bribes, scrapped with a teammate and, three years ago, ripped his universally beloved German teammate Jürgen Klinsmann in a tell-all book.Jeff Bradley

Examples of high-maintenance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The shift from high-maintenance colors to simple cuts and styles can largely be attributed to the high value placed on hair health in recent years. Ariana Quihuiz, People.com, 22 Feb. 2025 Everyone knows California is disaster-prone, but there’s a familiar logic to the calamitous geography in this high-maintenance beauty of a state. Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025 Complaints, impossible requests, and high-maintenance personalities can stretch anyone’s patience. Sho Dewan, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024 Here’s a summary of Han’s assessment of personas represented by a traditional Thanksgiving dish: Turkey: The high-maintenance star. Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for high-maintenance

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of high-maintenance was in 1916

Cite this Entry

“High-maintenance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high-maintenance. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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