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.
—
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
-
Still, the stubborn media silence continued unabated.—
Nate Rogers,
Vulture,
22 May 2025
-
United needed to play perfect football to unlock a stubborn defence, but struggled to push past competency.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Even with an obsessive showrunner at the helm, this series would’ve gone nowhere without the outsized talents of our writers’ room.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
30 May 2025
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Betting Big on the Creator Middle Class Stan has grown to more than 70,000 users in just three years, a trajectory that founder and CEO John Hu attributes to obsessive focus on creators who are building real, sustainable businesses without massive teams, investors or platforms.—
Ian Shepherd,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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And Bridges’ fit, thought of as seamless because of his shooting and dogged reputation, was not as slick as DiVincenzo’s had been the previous season.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
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Double bigs give Valkyries huge trouble The Valkyries have attempted to craft an identity as a scrappy, dogged defensive unit that plays above their talent level.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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Under the measure's broad scope and strict distance limits, few areas in Ohio would remain open to such purchases.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
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Every lens test follows strict real-world testing, where every feature and all functions are tested to assess overall performance.—
James Abbott,
Space.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Following Meghan's statements, Eldridge is adamant that her relatable role isn't convincing.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
29 May 2025
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In early previews and pre-release memos, the developers have been adamant that, despite targeting a more casual audience with some more forgiving elements, this is meant to be enjoyed by people who have spent hundreds of hours in the main game and its 2024 expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Anal-retentive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anal-retentive. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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