finicky

English

Etymology

From fr. finicking, from finical, from fine + -ical. Compare dated finikin. Perhaps suggested by Middle Dutch fijnkens 'accurately, neatly, prettily'.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɪnɪki/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Adjective

finicky (comparative finickier or more finicky, superlative finickiest or most finicky)

1. (informal, of a person) Fastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting, especially about details.

   Synonyms: fastidious, fussy; see also Thesaurus:fastidious

   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.

Usage notes

• The forms finickier and finickiest also exist, but are quite rare, and perhaps nonstandard. The forms more finicky and most finicky are much more common, and certainly standard.

Derived terms

• finickiness
• finickity

Translations

fastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting

• Catalan: primmirat (ca)
• Galician: repugnante
• German: kleinlich (de), anspruchsvoll (de), wählerisch (de), pedantisch (de), etepetete (de), zimperlich (de), affektiert (de), pingelig (de), krütsch (de) (regional), überkorrekt, übergenau (de), peinlich genau
• Hungarian: szőrszálhasogató (hu)
• Russian: привере́дливый (ru) (priverédlivyj)
• Spanish: fastidioso (es), melindroso (es), remilgado (es), puntilloso (es) m, quisquilloso (es) m, tiquismiquis (es), pejiguero (es), esquilimoso m, pedante (es)
• Swedish: petig (sv)

demanding, requiring above-normal care

• German: anspruchsvoll (de), heikel (de), pflegebedürftig (de)
• Russian: капризный (ru) m (kapriznyj) (informal)
• Swedish: pillig

Further reading

• “finicky”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.