finicky

adjective fin·icky \ ˈfi-ni-kē \

Updated on: 25 May 2018

Definition of finicky

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

See finicky defined for English-language learners

See finicky defined for kids

finicky was our Word of the Day on 09/02/2011. Hear the podcast!

Examples of finicky in a Sentence

My teacher is finicky about grammar.
a complicated and finicky recipe

Recent Examples of finicky from the Web

Track athletes can be quite finicky about their footwear.

— steve soucie, Daily Southtown, "Agony of the feet: Olivia Oliver makes due in the 400 relay to clinch state title; H-F finishes second in team standings," 20 May 2018
For a long time, Bluetooth keyboards were too finicky to be worth the cost.

— popular mechanics editors, Popular Mechanics, "Today's Best Deals: Chill Out With a Sale on LG's Best Window AC," 14 May 2018
But the more advanced vapes were either unattractively large or required users to monitor finicky temperature settings, coils, and wicks.

— jia tolentino, The New Yorker, "The Promise of Vaping and the Rise of Juul," 7 May 2018
Delegates, about 1,000 in all including proxy voters, assembled in a large white tent outside of the Sheraton Hotel and Marina on Harbor Island to cast their vote with handheld electronic devices that proved, on some rare occasions, to be finicky.

— joshua stewart, sandiegouniontribune.com, "As vote-by-mail ballots prepare to ship, the state GOP won't endorse a candidate for governor," 6 May 2018
But constructing such a finicky instrument wasn’t easy.

— alexandra witze, Scientific American, ""Marsquakes" Set to Reveal Tantalizing Clues to Planet's Early Years," 28 Apr. 2018
Rose scents are finicky — people either love them or hate them.

— shannon barbour, The Cut, "Hermès’s Newest Perfume Is for People Who Hate Roses," 24 Apr. 2018
Heirlooms were too finicky, the yields too low, the orders too small—ten thousand pounds from farmers accustomed to growing two million.

— junot díaz, The New Yorker, "The Hunt for Mexico’s Heirloom Beans," 17 Apr. 2018
Baking is a finicky endeavor, and baking books are the most challenging cookbooks to write because mere details can separate good cake from bad.

— alice medrich, WSJ, "‘The Perfect Cake’ and ‘Cake’ Reviews: Coconut, Carrot, Pound, Layer . . .," 13 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'finicky.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

You may be familiar with an advertising campaign featuring Morris, the "finicky" housecat who would only eat a certain brand of cat food. 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." "Finicking" also gives us "finick," a somewhat rare verb meaning "to put on airs" or "to dawdle about."