fussy
/ˈfʌ.si/adjective
fussy is spelled F-U-S-S-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, fussy means “Anxious or particular about petty details; hard to please” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fussy?
| Letters | 5: F-U-S-S-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,462nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is fussy?
Fussy appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fussy?
- /ˈfʌ.si/
- /ˈfʊ.si/
Fussy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fussy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of fussy
- fussier comparative
- fussiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fussy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Anxious or particular about petty details; hard to please.
- 2
Having a tendency to fuss, cry, or be bad-tempered/ill-tempered (especially of babies).
- 3
Having much unnecessary detail or decoration.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fussy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense particular about details:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pointilleux, tatillon, sélectif, exigeant, difficile, faire la fine bouche |
| German | pingelig, wählerisch, anspruchsvoll, unruhig, kleinlich, übereifrig |
| Portuguese | exigente, enjoado, frescurento, fresco, mimizento, seletivo |
| Spanish | mañoso, mañero, quisquilloso, tiquismiquis, pejiguero, cicatero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does fussy come from?
From fuss + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).