pickier; pickiest
: very careful or too careful about choosing or accepting things : fussy, choosy
a picky eater
Because pen collectors are a picky lot, and some antiques dealers who are not in the pen business can overlook the details of condition, there is occasional friction.—
Bill Holland
Bill HollandWith rising ticket prices and new competition from cable TV, cost-conscious families may be pickier about the movies they choose to see.—David Ansen and Martin Kasindorf
David Ansen and Martin Kasindorf
pickiness
noun
Taylor mocks Zavala for the size of his extended Mexican family, their endless chatter and the frequency of their quinceaneras. Zavala ribs Taylor for his white-person pickiness about artisanal coffee and marriage.
—Belinda Luscombe
Belinda Luscombe
Now jobless and forced to live with five housemates in San Jose, Calif., she comes away from every job interview discouraged by employers' pickiness.
—Daniel McGinn
Daniel McGinn
Synonyms of picky
Examples of picky in a Sentence
a picky cat who would only eat one particular kind of food, and only if it was served in his special dish
she's picky, but she always finds the best quality in fresh meat and fish
Recent Examples on the Web
The have-nots are doing everything that used to guarantee great jobs — refreshing resumes, optimizing LinkedIn profiles and doing interviews — but companies are much more picky these days.
—Lily Wright, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Journalists are both fewer and pickier.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
So that’s probably a better choice for picky foldable fans.
—ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026
These irresistible, creamy purée treats are perfect for picky eaters, bonding moments and sneaking in hydration—cats can’t get enough of them.
—Kasey Caminiti, USA Today, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for picky
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Lily Wright, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Journalists are both fewer and pickier.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
So that’s probably a better choice for picky foldable fans.
—ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026
These irresistible, creamy purée treats are perfect for picky eaters, bonding moments and sneaking in hydration—cats can’t get enough of them.
—Kasey Caminiti, USA Today, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for picky
Cite this Entry
“Picky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picky. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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