pickier; pickiest
: very careful or too careful about choosing or accepting things : fussy, choosy
a picky eater
Because pen collectors are a picky lot, and some antiques dealers who are not in the pen business can overlook the details of condition, there is occasional friction.—
Bill Holland
Bill HollandWith rising ticket prices and new competition from cable TV, cost-conscious families may be pickier about the movies they choose to see.—David Ansen and Martin Kasindorf
David Ansen and Martin Kasindorf
pickiness
noun
Taylor mocks Zavala for the size of his extended Mexican family, their endless chatter and the frequency of their quinceaneras. Zavala ribs Taylor for his white-person pickiness about artisanal coffee and marriage.
—Belinda Luscombe
Belinda Luscombe
Now jobless and forced to live with five housemates in San Jose, Calif., she comes away from every job interview discouraged by employers' pickiness.
—Daniel McGinn
Daniel McGinn
Synonyms
Examples of picky in a Sentence
a picky cat who would only eat one particular kind of food, and only if it was served in his special dish
she's picky, but she always finds the best quality in fresh meat and fish
Recent Examples on the Web
Americans are not only picky about what goes between the slices of bread in a sandwich.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
Both have kid’s menus with five options for picky eaters.
—Alev Aktar, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2024
Arguably not, as the optical quality here is similar, and the lenses are similarly picky about head positioning, which is improved in the standard Quest 3.
—Andrew Williams, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Don't use them as meal replacements Davis says to avoid offering baby food pouches as a replacement for meals entirely or as daily fillers between meals for children who are already picky eaters.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for picky 
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.
Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
Both have kid’s menus with five options for picky eaters.
—Alev Aktar, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2024
Arguably not, as the optical quality here is similar, and the lenses are similarly picky about head positioning, which is improved in the standard Quest 3.
—Andrew Williams, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Don't use them as meal replacements Davis says to avoid offering baby food pouches as a replacement for meals entirely or as daily fillers between meals for children who are already picky eaters.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for picky
Dictionary Entries Near picky
Cite this Entry
“Picky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picky. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share