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 Vionic Kimmie Court Sneakers This Vionic Galia sneaker is so good that my picky 60-year-old mom and I are both running to checkout. — Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 7 Sep. 2026 That being said, those in the chip sector looking for partners are getting increasingly picky, with finance not always among their top preferences. — Justina Lee,lisa Kim, CNBC, 4 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 See All Example Sentences for picky

Recent Examples of Synonyms for picky

Adjective

Lawrence’s casting is a coup – for any studio, really – as the actress is known for being quite choosy.

— Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of choosy

Adjective

Notably, most things known to have antidepressant effects increase brain plasticity—such as exercise, electroconvulsive therapy, selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors prescribed as antidepressants, and psychedelic drugs.

— Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider outlawing school diversity policies that limit Asian American students at magnet programs and selective high schools.

— Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of selective

Adjective

The most finicky part of the setup was actually inserting the battery for the igniter.

— Noah Kaufman, Architectural Digest, 2 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of finicky

Adjective

Full-scale, 10-foot Hulk standins helped actors and camera crews judge his dimensions on set, and even his pants required careful attention.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Turning a field into a recognizable maze requires specialized planning and careful execution.

— Alexa Liacko, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of careful

Adjective

For the no nonsense, a low-maintenance cut like a sharp collarbone lob or a style with no fussy layers frees up your time and hands to plot world domination.

— Loren Savini, Allure, 14 Oct. 2026
Celebrity hairstylist Brian Magallones considers this the perfect balance between a not-too-fussy and not-too-structured chignon, a style that sounds tough to style without a professional team but is actually quite easy to master at-home.

— Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of fussy

Adjective

The Playoff including home games for the highest seeded teams is a nice touch that many personalities seemed to agree was a positive.

— Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
The Verdict Sporting a more polished look than its contemporaries, Panasonic’s Japanese microwave is a nice gateway to nudge your kitchen toward more upscale design.

— Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 16 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

But beyond that particular case, the suit says, the agents and analysts had a diversity of career experience, including expertise in the counterintelligence threat from Iran and instances of helping recover American hostages held abroad.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
There’s some mildly threatening gunplay from a man at the end of his tether and yet, for me, this particular digression-of-the-week started to lag.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 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 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of picky

adjective

Example Sentences

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