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

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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 Queen conchs are picky about their habitats Queen conchs are large marine gastropods, and can be found throughout the Caribbean Sea, around Bermuda and in the Florida Keys. — Sarah Perkel, USA Today, 31 July 2026 Diners can eat outside picnic-style or take their meal to go, but either way, get ready for a satisfying option for even the pickiest of pallets. — Gabi De La Rosa, Southern Living, 28 July 2026 Did Argentina benefit, in the last 16, from a by-the-rules but picky VAR decision that nixed a quality goal by Egypt? — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2026 If neither meal is found to be appetizing, the winner is simply determined by what the picky eater finds least repulsive. — Matt Minton, Variety, 15 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for picky

Recent Examples of Synonyms for picky

Adjective

Brown was very choosy and strategic — a solid player in his second tenure as governor.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Disney pulled a series of strategic levers to get people through their park gates at a time when many are being choosy about how to spend their dollars, according to industry analysts.

— Natasha Chen, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of choosy

Adjective

Every other event that should be played in a venue no bigger than 20,000 must be selective about going to a football stadium.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2026
Bitcoin emerges as a key escape route, offering unparalleled portability and protection against selective taxation or confiscation, allowing capital to exit before traditional avenues become crowded.

— Dave Birnbaum, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of selective

Adjective

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
Although ficus trees can be finicky, their flexibility and natural beauty are just as pleasant to gaze upon in the 2020s, both indoors and outdoors.

— Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of finicky

Adjective

Without careful planning to reduce the constellations’ brightness, the team found that, in the most extreme case, the satellites could outnumber visible stars by a factor of 100.

— Arielle Frommer, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026
Maneuvering in tight spaces requires careful judgment of each individual case — and not just about which body part is least likely to cause offense when brought into close proximity to a fellow diner.

— Judith Martin, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of careful

Adjective

New York has a nice blend of skill and compete in a system that should produce reliable NHL talent but still has a lot of work ahead in this next rebuild.

— Corey Pronman, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
As for the rest of the space, the open-concept kitchen’s peninsula and granite countertops are a nice touch, as is the fact that the bedroom is big enough for a king-size mattress and a home office.

— Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of nice

Adjective

Infants may act sluggish or not active, vomit, be unusually fussy, face poor feeding, show a bulging soft spot on the head, or show poor reflexes.

— Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
The result has a polished vibe without being overly fussy or complicated to put together.

— Aemilia Madden, Glamour, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of fussy

Adjective

These agents identify information relevant to particular use-case-specific signals and produce reports intended to reduce the amount of time required for decision-making.

— Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 23 Aug. 2026
All have been regularly targeted in the war, with Kuwait and the UAE sites of particular focus for Iran.

— Alexander Langlois, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of particular

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

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 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of picky

adjective

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