Which word means being very attentive to small details and wanting everything to be correct and perfect?

• A. Casual
• B. Careless
• C. Fastidious
• D. Meticulous

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is choosing a word that signals an extremely high level of attention to small details and a demand that everything be correct and perfect. Fastidious describes someone who is unusually particular about details and accuracy, often requiring everything to be correct and meticulously neat. It carries a nuance of fussiness or being hard to please if something isn’t up to exacting standards, which matches the sense of wanting perfection. Meticulous is very close as well, since it means careful and precise, but fastidious adds that extra bite of being particular and easily bothered by imperfections. Casual and careless are simply about a relaxed or negligent attitude toward details. So the best fit is fastidious.