picky

adjective

ˈpi-kē How to pronounce picky (audio)
Definition of pickynext
1
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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 Here are details on tiny frozen pancakes that promise to quash hunger and please even the pickiest of eaters and those that are likely to end up as back-seat crumbles. — Jolene Thym, Mercury News, 19 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 Parents have long used this beloved casserole as a vehicle for sneaking some veggies into picky kids’ diets. — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2026 Even those picky eaters may want something else from time to time. — Isabel Lopez, Parents, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for picky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for picky
  1. choosy
  2. selective
  3. finicky
  4. careful
  5. fussy
  6. nice
  7. persnickety
  8. particular
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
  • Around 60 percent of visitors are from outside France, with two‑thirds of its international crowd drawn from greater Europe, a solid base from the Middle East and more selective but still active delegations from Asia and the Americas.
    — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Prospective buyers are being more selective, asking tougher questions and looking for partners that solve all of their pain points rather than single-solution service providers.
    — Jodi Amendola, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of selective
Adjective
  • Moisture trapped in the ground allows finicky crops such as onions and peanuts to grow.
    — Adrien Marotte, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Their odds of winning the World Series – a famously finicky task prone to small sample size flukes – were over 25%, one-in-four for one of baseball’s 30 teams.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of finicky
Adjective
  • The Challenges of Caring for a Fireclay Sink However, the same gleaming surface that makes a fireclay sink an anchor of your kitchen design requires a more intentional, careful cleaning routine than some other materials.
    — Blythe Copeland, Martha Stewart, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The premise couldn’t be simpler, though Wollner’s incredible prologue — a careful arrangement of low-event long takes that emphasize how people move through spaces in time — trains our eyes to privilege texture over incident.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of careful
Adjective
  • Baby is fussy, so back to Mom to eat as suitor Robert Pattinson tries his shot at Anne Hathaway.
    — Zachary Pincus-Roth, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • It’s designed to flatter various body types without feeling tight or fussy.
    — Sarah Scott, Southern Living, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of fussy
Adjective
  • There's also a small flip up carry loop, which is a nice feature for a bottle with a comparably wide diameter.
    — Emily Farris, Bon Appetit Magazine, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Nor are there many studios with two full baths, a nice perk owed to the combination of two apartments and potentially a key to relationship harmony in the mornings.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 7 Sep. 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
  • Podded propulsion offers particular advantages in this environment.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Tall goalkeepers have traditionally had to deal with a particular technical problem.
    — Matt Pyzdrowski, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of particular

Browse Nearby Words

pickups
picky
picnic
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Cite this Entry

“Picky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picky. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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