exacting

Etymology

exact + -ing

adj

1. Making great demands; difficult to satisfy.
   His exacting taste required no small degree of outward perfection. 1874, Edward Payson Roe, chapter 4, in Opening a Chestnut Burr
   [H]e burst into apologies which would have satisfied a more exacting man than I am. 1895, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 7, in The Stark Munro Letters
2. (of an action, task, etc) Requiring precise accuracy, great care, effort, or attention.
   Even if a GDF receives its first deposit in the 2040s, the waste has to be delivered and put away with such exacting caution that it can be filled and closed only by the middle of the 22nd century. December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian
   Wolf's work, which, though not very exacting, had to be done single-handed, kept him to his post. 1897, Bram Stoker, chapter 3, in The Man
3. (of a person or organization) Characterized by exaction.
   "He is a hard, exacting, money-loving man," was my remark. 1850, T. S. Arthur, chapter 2, in All's For the Best

verb

1. present participle and gerund of exact