| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | demanding |
| Synonyms: | burdensome, by the book, careful, critical, difficult, exigent, finicky, fussy, grievous, hard, harsh, hypercritical, imperious, nit-picking, onerous, oppressive, painstaking, particular, persnickety, picky, precise, rigid, rigorous, severe, stern, strict, stringent, taxing, tough, trying, unsparing, weighty |
| Antonyms: | giving, lending |
| Main Entry: | ambitious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | requiring great effort, ability |
| Synonyms: | arduous, bold, challenging, demanding, difficult, elaborate, energetic, exacting, formidable, grandiose, hard, impressive, industrious, lofty, pretentious, severe, strenuous, visionary |
| Antonyms: | easy, facile |
| Main Entry: | assiduous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hard-working |
| Synonyms: | active, attentive, busy, constant, diligent, eager beaver, exacting, grinding, indefatigable, industrious, laborious, persevering, plugging, scrupulous, sedulous, steady, studious, unflagging, untiring, whiz, zealous |
| Antonyms: | lazy, neglectful, negligent |
| Main Entry: | austere |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | severe in manner |
| Synonyms: | ascetic, astringent, cold, earnest, exacting, forbidding, formal, grave, grim, hard, harsh, inexorable, inflexible, obdurate, rigid, rigorous, serious, sober, solemn, somber, stern, stiff, strict, stringent, unfeeling, unrelenting |
| Antonyms: | bland, calm, gentle, meek, mild |
| Main Entry: | burdensome |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | troublesome |
| Synonyms: | carking, crushing, demanding, difficult, disturbing, exacting, exigent, heavy*, irksome, onerous, oppressive, superincumbent, taxing, tough, trying, wearing, wearying, weighty |
| Antonyms: | aiding, helpful, helping, relieving, unburdensome |
| Main Entry: | captious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | very critical |
| Synonyms: | acrimonious, cantankerous, carping, caviling, cavillous, censorious, contrary, crabby, cross, demanding, deprecating, disparaging, exacting, exceptive, fault-finding, finicky, hypercritical, irritable, nagging, nit-picking, overcritical, peevish, perverse, petulant, sarcastic, severe, testy, touchy |
| Antonyms: | commendatory, complimentary, encouraging, flattering, laudatory, praising |
| Main Entry: | careful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | cautious; painstaking |
| Synonyms: | accurate, alert, apprehensive, assiduous, attentive, chary, choosy, circumspect, concerned, conscientious, conservative, cool, deliberate, discreet, exacting, fastidious, finicky, fussy, going to great lengths, guarded, heedful, judicious, leery, meticulous, mindful, observant, particular, playing safe, precise, prim, protective, provident, prudent, punctilious, regardful, religious, rigorous, scrupulous, selfdisciplined, shy, sober, solicitous, solid, thorough, thoughtful, vigilant, wary |
| Antonyms: | careless, inattentive, incautious, thoughtless, uncareful, unconcerned, unscrupulous |
| Main Entry: | choosy |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fussy, discriminating |
| Synonyms: | dainty, eclectic, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicky, nice, overparticular, particular, persnickety*, picky, prissy, select, selective |
| Antonyms: | undemanding, unfastidious, unfussy |
| Main Entry: | conscientious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | thorough, careful |
| Synonyms: | complete, diligent, exact, exacting, faithful, fastidious, fussy, hanging in, hanging tough, heart and soul into, heedful, meticulous, minding p's and q's, painstaking, particular, playing safe, punctilious, punctual, reliable, tough, walking on eggs |
| Antonyms: | careless, inexact, irresponsible, uncareful, unconscientious, unscrupulous |