fastidiosi

Fastidiosi is the masculine plural form of the Italian adjective fastidioso, meaning annoying, bothersome, or irritating. It describes people, situations, or things that cause discomfort, nuisance, or irritation. The feminine plural form is fastidiose, used with feminine plural nouns. In practice, fastidiosi is most often used as an attributive descriptor, for example: commenti fastidiosi (annoying comments), abitudini fastidiose (tiresome habits), problemi fastidiosi (troublesome problems). It can also function predicatively: Questi commenti sono fastidiosi.

Etymology and nuance: fastidioso derives from Latin fastidiosus, from fastidium meaning distaste or loathing. In modern Italian, the sense centers on something that provokes irritation, mild disgust, or social discomfort rather than severe harm. The term is versatile, suitable for everyday language as well as formal or journalistic contexts when describing minor to moderate annoyances.

Usage notes: Fastidiosi is typically used before the noun when describing a characteristic, though it can appear after a linking verb with the noun as the subject complement. It is more common to refer to things as fastidiosi rather than to label people in a harsh way; for stronger condemnations, synonyms like irritanti or seccanti might be chosen. As a noun, Italian uses fastidio (a nuisance) rather than i fastidiosi; the plural form is rarely used as a standalone noun.

Related terms include irritante, noioso, seccante, and stancante; antonyms include gradevole, piacevole, and interessante. Fastidiosi reflects everyday experiences of small frictions rather than major conflicts.