Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

Thesaurus

persnickety

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of persnickety

1 hard to please
  • As she got older, she got more and more persnickety.
Synonyms of persnickety

choosy (or choosey), dainty, delicate, demanding, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicking, finicky, fussbudgety, fussy, nice, particular, picky
Words Related to persnickety

discerning, discriminating, selective

insightful, knowledgeable

captious, carping, caviling (or cavilling), critical, faultfinding, hypercritical, overcritical

careful, meticulous, painstaking, punctilious, scrupulous

queasy (also queazy), squeamish

peevish, petulant, prickly, touchy

prim, prissy
Near Antonyms of persnickety

affable, breezy, carefree, devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky, lackadaisical, laid-back, low-pressure, relaxed

flexible, lax, loose

lenient, permissive

uncritical

indiscriminating, undiscriminating
Antonyms of persnickety

undemanding, unfastidious, unfussy
2 requiring much time, effort, or careful attention
  • lacked the patience to deal with such persnickety tasks as hanging wallpaper
Synonyms of persnickety

arduous, burdensome, challenging, demanding, exacting, grueling (or gruelling), killing, laborious, onerous, taxing, toilsome
Words Related to persnickety

difficult, formidable, hard, herculean, rough, rugged, stiff, strenuous, testing, tough

oppressive, trying

rigid, rigorous, severe, stern, strict, stringent
Near Antonyms of persnickety

easy, effortless, facile, simple, smooth
Antonyms of persnickety

light, nondemanding, unchallenging, undemanding

Learn More about persnickety

  1. See words that rhyme with persnickety Dictionary: Definition of persnickety

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up persnickety? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games