finicky

adjective

fin·​icky ˈfi-ni-kē 

1

: extremely or excessively particular, exacting, or meticulous in taste or standards

a finicky eater

My teacher is finicky about spelling.

2

: requiring much care, precision, or attentive effort

a finicky recipe

… growing the finicky Pinot Noir grape …

—Kim Marcus

finickiness noun

Did you know?

If you’re a reader of a certain age (say, a Boomer, Gen Xer, or even a Xennial), you may remember cheeky television commercials featuring Morris, a finicky housecat who only eats a certain brand of cat food. (Morris is still featured on product labels.) Morris's tastes in cuisine are not only very particular, but very fine as well, and that's appropriate given the origin of finicky. The word came about as an alteration of finicking, itself an alteration of another adjective, finical. It's believed that finical derives from the adjective fine.

Synonyms

• choosy
• choosey
• dainty
• delicate
• demanding
• exacting
• fastidious
• finical
• finicking
• fussbudgety
• fussy
• nice
• old-maidish
• particular
• pernickety [chiefly British]
• persnickety
• picky

Examples of finicky in a Sentence

My teacher is finicky about grammar.

a complicated and finicky recipe

Recent Examples on the Web

By modern standards, the 255 horsepower (or, in some versions, 240 horsepower) that the 1970s 308s produced isn’t much, and the cars also had a finicky five-speed manual transmission, but the 308 endures as an object that is, quite simply, one of the classiest-looking Ferraris ever made. —Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024

Semiconductor chips are notorious for their finicky electrical properties and are more sensitive to light, dust, and particle contaminants. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024

Casual Maxi Dress Italians love a good maxi dress for the spring that can be accessorized with layered jewelry and paired with open or close-toed shoes, depending on spring’s notoriously finicky weather. —Asia London Palomba, Travel + Leisure, 27 Mar. 2024

Some are quite easy to use while others can be more finicky and require some muscle power. —Maya Polton, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Feb. 2024

Maybe not, because non-Big Muff fuzz pedals can be finicky and tricky to dial in. —Spin Contributor, SPIN, 1 Feb. 2024

For a less finicky, albeit nontraditional Alfredo sauce, cooks at some point started adding heavy cream. —Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2024

While a twitch here and there might induce a strike when fish are finicky, for the most part, a slow, steady retrieve is all that’s necessary. —David A. Rose, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2024

Meanwhile, businesses’ aggressive implementation of self-checkout systems has backfired in certain markets as consumers increasingly voice frustrations with the often finicky tech. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of finicking

First Known Use

circa 1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

finicky

adjective

fin·​icky ˈfin-i-kē 

: very hard to please : fussy

a finicky eater

finickiness noun