as in stubborn
extremely or overly neat, careful, or precise
My anal-retentive brother keeps records of everything that happens in his life.
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Recent Examples of anal-retentive
But there would be no grease-drinking, Judas-playing Sandy without his anal-retentive best friend, Reuben Feffer.
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Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
Conventional management practices suppress everything that isn’t vine by mowing, tilling, and spraying herbicide with an intensity that ranges from anal-retentive to paranoid.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 24 July 2024
One might be forgiven for also thinking that the identification is not so much between the audience and the killer as between Fincher, who is known as something of a filmmaking fusspot, and his anal-retentive central character.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
Conventional management practices suppress everything that isn’t vine by mowing, tilling, and spraying herbicide with an intensity that ranges from anal-retentive to paranoid.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 24 July 2024
One might be forgiven for also thinking that the identification is not so much between the audience and the killer as between Fincher, who is known as something of a filmmaking fusspot, and his anal-retentive central character.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anal-retentive
Adjective
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The Fed’s preferred inflation measure — the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — is due Friday and could similarly show stubborn price pressures.Bryan Mena, CNN, 18 Dec. 2024
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While the overall economic picture is starting to look better, stubborn inflation and the prospect of new tariffs when President-elect Donald Trump takes office seem to give mid-market leaders pause.Megan Poinski, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The modern coach’s quest to remove jeopardy within matches is obsessive and Emery believes opponents can be negated by keeping the ball for long, often slow, periods.Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
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Healthy love is not obsessive, but reliable, balanced and uplifting, and many long for such a dynamic.Mark Travers, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Lynch’s Bianca Pullman is a dogged MI6 agent who burns anyone and everything to the ground, including her own family life, in search of her target.Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2024
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His dogged defense of civil rights and civil liberties is a great inspiration to our people.Lori Rampani, Baltimore Sun, 5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The opinion was historic and sent shock waves throughout Washington, D.C., where law firms specializing in campaign finance had long advised their political clients that coordination between campaigns and PACs was a strict prohibition.Gabe Kaminsky, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 30 Dec. 2024
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If the court agrees that the law survives strict scrutiny, TikTok could still be facing an abrupt shutdown in January.Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The company has long maintained that privacy is a fundamental human right and has been adamant that the information stored on its devices be accessible only to the people that own them.Thomas Brewster, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
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Despite the abuse Drea and her kids have experienced, the mother of three is adamant about keeping her ex-husband’s last name.Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 11 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near anal-retentive
Cite this Entry
“Anal-retentive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anal-retentive. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
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