finicky

adjective fin·icky \ ˈfi-ni-kē \

|Updated on: 20 Jul 2018

Examples: finicky in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

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

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Examples of finicky in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of finicky from the Web

Earlier prohibitions on making cell phone calls and text messages aimed to keep drivers’ eyes on the road, instead of staring down at small, finicky gadgets.

— ian bogost, The Atlantic, "Driving Without a Smartphone," 10 July 2018
Beyond rain, drought and finicky machinery, this year offers a new subject: a global face-off over tariffs.

— New York Times, "Trade Politics Comes to the County Fair," 9 July 2018
Looking at it requires finicky machines which use magnetism or electricity or both to bypass the bone.

— The Economist, "The eye's structure holds information about the health of the mind," 28 June 2018
Bamba wanted no questions to linger over an internal motor some deemed too finicky.

— nick moyle, San Antonio Express-News, "Orlando-bound: Magic select former Texas star Mo Bamba sixth overall in NBA draft," 21 June 2018
Bamba wanted no questions to linger over an internal motor some deemed too finicky.

— nick moyle, Houston Chronicle, "Magic select UT's Mo Bamba with No. 6 pick in NBA Draft," 21 June 2018
Fuel injection Before fuel injection, meting out gasoline into a combustion chamber was an imprecise and finicky process.

— blake z. rong, Popular Mechanics, "The Evolution of the Combustion Engine," 5 June 2018
Plans are pretty cheap, starting at $0.99 for an additional 50GB, but Google’s totally free option is a better option for all but the most finicky photogs.

— jennifer jolly, USA TODAY, "Easy ways to share and organize digital photos," 5 June 2018
The bikes at Body Cycle Studio also felt a more finicky.

— grace dickinson, Philly.com, "Which Philly-area spin studio classes are worth the hype and heavy price tag?," 29 May 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."