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fuss·y

(fŭsē)

adj. fuss·i·er, fuss·i·est

1. Easily upset; given to bouts of ill temper: a fussy baby.

2. Paying great or excessive attention to personal tastes and appearance; fastidious: He was always fussy about clothes.

3. Calling for or requiring great attention to sometimes trivial details: a fussy actuarial problem.

4. Full of superfluous details: "It can indeed be fussy, filling with ornament what should be empty space" (H.D.F. Kitto).

fussi·ly adv.

fussi·ness n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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