finicality
Definition
- Noun:
- Excessive fussiness or fastidiousness: "finicality" refers to an extreme or excessive attention to trivial details, often manifesting as pickiness or a demanding attitude.
- Over-precision in matters of taste or conduct: The state of being overly particular about minor aspects of appearance, behavior, or quality.
Usage Examples
- (Her excessive fussiness over a minor detail caused a delay.)
- (The chef’s extreme attention to a trivial detail was irritating.)
Advanced Usage
- "with finicality": acting with extreme precision or fastidiousness.
- He inspected the antique vase with finicality, noting every tiny scratch. (He examined it with excessive attention to minor details.)
Variants and Related Words
Finical (adj): excessively particular or fastidious about details.
- The finical guest complained about the arrangement of the silverware. (The guest was overly fussy.)
Finicalness (n): the quality of being finical; synonymous with finicality.
- Her finicalness made her a difficult person to shop with. (Her fussiness caused inconvenience.)
Synonyms
- Fastidiousness: an extreme attention to detail that may be excessive.
- Fussiness: being overly concerned with trivial matters.
- Pickiness: a tendency to be selective in a demanding way.
Related Idioms
Split hairs: to make fine distinctions about trivial matters.
- His finicality meant he would split hairs over the wording of a simple note. (He focused on unnecessary details.)
The devil is in the details: a reminder that minor details can cause significant problems.
- Her finicality proved that the devil is in the details, as she spent hours on a single font. (Excessive attention to trivial details became a problem.)