finicky
adj/ˈfɪnɪki/
Etymology 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.
1
Informal, Of a person Fastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting, especially about details.
- My editor is very finicky about punctuation. Every dot and comma has to be just right.
- She has a finicky baby that's hard to feed.
2
Informal Demanding; requiring above-normal care.
- The lawnmower is a bit finicky in cold weather.
- 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
- exacting, fastidious, fussy, meticulous, particular, picky
- Derived terms
- finickily, finickiness, finickity, unfinicky