Meanings
comparative more pernickety · superlative most pernickety · alternative persnickety
- CommonwealthIrelandUKFussy; paying undue attention to minor details; fastidious.
1 more example
‘You must forgive me,’ he said. ‘I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink. It comes partly from being a bachelor, but mostly from a habit of taking a lot of trouble over details. It’s very pernickety and old-maidish really, but then when I’m working I generally have to eat my meals alone and it makes them more interesting when one takes trouble.’
1953, Ian Fleming, chapter 8, in Casino Royale, page 48Synonyms: niggly, persnickety, anal-retentive, choosy, conscientious, dainty, exacting, fastidious
- Requiring attention to minor details.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFussy; paying undue attention to minor details; fastidious.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecharacterized by excessive precision and attention to trivial details
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Scotspernickety
- Englishpernickety
From Scots pernickety, persnickety, apparently from per- + nick (“a notch, mark, cutting retort”) + -et (“-ed”) + -y; equivalent to English per- + nick + -ety; literally, “marked up”, then “overly precise”. The alternative form persnickety, with s, may be due to substitution of Scots sneck (“a cut, notch”) for nick. Compare also Scots variants pernicked, pernicket, pirnicky, and pernicky.
More words from Scots
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian дребнав, педантичен
- дребнав (drebnav)paying undue attention to minor details
- педантичен (pedantičen)paying undue attention to minor details
- щекотлив (štekotliv)requiring attention to minor details
Czech pedantský, puntičkářský
- pedantskýpaying undue attention to minor details
- puntičkářskýpaying undue attention to minor details
- hnidopišskýpaying undue attention to minor details
Danish pernittengrynet
- pernittengrynetrequiring attention to minor details
Dutch pietepeuterig, pietluttig
- pietepeuterigpaying undue attention to minor details
- pietluttigpaying undue attention to minor details
French pointilleux, tatillon
- pointilleuxpaying undue attention to minor details
- tatillonpaying undue attention to minor details
- pinailleurpaying undue attention to minor details
- pointilleuxrequiring attention to minor details
- tatillonrequiring attention to minor details
- pinailleurrequiring attention to minor details
German kleinlich, pingelig
- kleinlichpaying undue attention to minor details
- pingeligpaying undue attention to minor details
- etepetetepaying undue attention to minor details
- penibelpaying undue attention to minor details
- übergenaupaying undue attention to minor details
- kritischrequiring attention to minor details
- genaurequiring attention to minor details
- heikelrequiring attention to minor details
Norwegian Bokmål pirkete, spissfindig
- pirketepaying undue attention to minor details
- spissfindigpaying undue attention to minor details
- minutiøspaying undue attention to minor details
Russian приди́рчивый, разбо́рчивый
- приди́рчивый (pridírčivyj)paying undue attention to minor details
- разбо́рчивый (razbórčivyj)paying undue attention to minor details
- привере́дливый (priverédlivyj)paying undue attention to minor details
- въе́дливый (vʺjédlivyj)paying undue attention to minor details
- суетли́вый (sujetlívyj)paying undue attention to minor details
- дото́шный (dotóšnyj)paying undue attention to minor details
- щекотли́вый (ščekotlívyj)requiring attention to minor details
- то́нкий (tónkij)requiring attention to minor details
Spanish punctilloso, puntilloso
- punctillosopaying undue attention to minor details
- puntillosopaying undue attention to minor details
- quisquillosopaying undue attention to minor details
- puntillosorequiring attention to minor details
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with pernickety
All rhymes →Cite this entry
pernickety. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pernickety
“pernickety.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pernickety. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pernickety,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pernickety.
Source: pernickety on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.