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
Five picky InStyle fashion editors put popular sweatpant jeans from Gap and Rag and Bone to the test.
—Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 22 Jan. 2026
Many episodes featured Stanger giving tough love to unkempt potential matches and the picky millionaires.
—Emy Lacroix, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
African violets aren’t that picky about temperature, but they should be sheltered from drafty windows, air conditioning units, and heaters.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Jan. 2026
Houseplants can be picky about their growing environment, with many varieties having specific soil, sunlight, temperature, and water quantity requirements.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 17 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for picky
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Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 22 Jan. 2026
Many episodes featured Stanger giving tough love to unkempt potential matches and the picky millionaires.
—Emy Lacroix, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
African violets aren’t that picky about temperature, but they should be sheltered from drafty windows, air conditioning units, and heaters.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Jan. 2026
Houseplants can be picky about their growing environment, with many varieties having specific soil, sunlight, temperature, and water quantity requirements.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 17 Jan. 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 28 Jan. 2026.
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