PICKY Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

picky

adjective

ˈpi-kē

Definition of picky

as in choosy

hard to please a picky cat who would only eat one particular kind of food, and only if it was served in his special dish

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in selective

tending to select carefully she's picky, but she always finds the best quality in fresh meat and fish

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of picky Considering the world of options there are out there, some picky people take years to find the perfect sofa. — Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 1 Sep. 2026 Some producers will get much more picky about that and spend a lot of time aligning the playing to the grid. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Violet helleborines are incredibly picky orchids, requiring a mature beech forest growing on a clay soil overlaid on chalk. — Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2026 Luke Even though Luke is secretly a major brainiac, his smarts may have prevented him from finding love by being too picky. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for picky

Recent Examples of Synonyms for picky

Adjective

Schumann has seen how Dan Lanning was choosy and didn’t leave a good situation until a job the caliber of Oregon came into the picture.

— Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
And because Imax is not actively seeking a sale, simply entertaining offers, its executives can afford to be choosey.

— Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of choosy

Adjective

These birds, with their intense, sharp eyes and bold, sturdy appearance, are selective in their social bonds and communicate in loud, rattling chatter.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
That effort eventually found a powerful ally in Cruz, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, whose views on the Sherman Act have been notably selective.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of selective

Adjective

The oversized trench coat maintains its spot in the fall capsule wardrobe, while a few more unexpected silhouettes, like the elevated track jacket, offer both protection and elegance in the notoriously finicky weather to come.

— Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 14 Sep. 2026
Gap’s CashSoft fabric is a soft cotton blend that feels like cashmere, but isn’t as finicky.

— Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of finicky

Adjective

Nick wants to be careful about their firm’s spending, but Serena reminds him that Cathcarts has every resource at its disposal.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
The Iranian regime will need to be careful before launching such an attack, or even before undertaking lesser forms of escalation.

— Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of careful

Adjective

Today’s recipe Carolynn Carreño’s recipe for this smooth, creamy chocolate frosting is easy to make, with none of the potential pitfalls of fussy European buttercreams.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
The doughnuts are tender with a subtly sweet dough, and the toppings aren’t overly fussy.

— Lia Picard, AJC.com, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of fussy

Adjective

The woman and her children lived in the nice part of the house and the foster girls — three to five at a time — ate dinner separately in the basement.

— Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026
In an era where millions of recipes are made for content consumption as much as actual consumption, traveling back in time for someone’s beloved 1970 banana bread recipe sounds pretty nice.

— Candy Hom, AJC.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of nice

Adjective

The team then turned to an open-source model developed in China, which was less persnickety.

— Stephen Witt, New Yorker, 30 July 2026
Imagine creating a new standard of hypersensitive caution about attracting even the most persnickety media criticism, and then applying it for the first time to your son’s wedding.

— Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026

Definition of persnickety

Adjective

If a particular bank or investor isn’t the right match at the moment, preserving the relationship is important in case the situation ever changes.

— Frank Williamson, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
If there are any issues with a particular trail that Coles has identified needs repairs — like if an endangered species is known to live in a creek next to the trail — the Forest Service could deny his request, thus leaving the trail unmaintained.

— Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of particular

Browse Nearby Words

pickups

picky

picnic

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“Picky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picky. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of picky

adjective

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