Meanings
comparative finickier · comparative more finicky · superlative finickiest · superlative most finicky
- informalFastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting, especially about details.
She has a finicky baby that's hard to feed.
1 more example
My editor is very finicky about punctuation. Every dot and comma has to be just right.
Synonyms: fastidious, fussy, anal-retentive, choosy, conscientious, dainty, exacting, fastidious
- informalDemanding; requiring above-normal care.
The lawnmower is a bit finicky in cold weather.
1 more example
Instead of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Cream Cheese Pie Crust from her addictingly finicky The Pie and Pastry Bible, I decided to make her Sour Cream Crust.
2009 July 13, Evan Kleiman, “Pie-a-Day #20 & #21: Cherry Pie and Sour Cream Ice Cream Pie”, in KCRW, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2025
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting, especially about details.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveexacting especially about details
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From finick (“to work in a fastidious manner, wasting time over unnecessary details”) + -y. Compare finicking, finical, and dated finikin. Perhaps suggested by obsolete Dutch fijnkens (“accurately, neatly, prettily”) (modern Dutch fijntjes). Compare also Sicilian finicchiu.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan primmirat
- primmiratfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
Czech vybíravý, puntičkářský
- vybíravýfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- puntičkářskýfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
French pinailleur, pointilleux
- pinailleurfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- pointilleuxfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- scrupuleuxfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
German kleinlich, anspruchsvoll
- kleinlichfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- anspruchsvollfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- wählerischfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- pedantischfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- etepetetefastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- zimperlichfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- affektiertfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- pingeligfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- krütschfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- überkorrektfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- übergenaufastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- peinlich genaufastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
Hungarian szőrszálhasogató
- szőrszálhasogatófastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
Italian puntiglioso, pignolo
- puntigliosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- pignolofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
Polish drobiazgowy, skrupulatny
- drobiazgowyfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- skrupulatnyfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- wybrednyfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- przesadnydemanding, requiring above-normal care
Portuguese meticuloso, minucioso
- meticulosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- minuciosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
Russian привере́дливый, капризный
- привере́дливый (priverédlivyj)fastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- капризный (kapriznyj)demanding, requiring above-normal care
Spanish fastidioso, melindroso
- fastidiosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- melindrosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- remilgadofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- puntillosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- quisquillosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- tiquismiquisfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- pejiguerofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- esquilimosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- pedantefastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- escolimosofastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- difícildemanding, requiring above-normal care
- dificultosodemanding, requiring above-normal care
Swedish petig, pillig
- petigfastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting
- pilligdemanding, requiring above-normal care
Cite this entry
finicky. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/finicky
“finicky.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/finicky. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “finicky,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/finicky.
Source: finicky on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.