Meaning & use

picky

adjective·Everyday

Excessively careful or fussy in choosing, often rejecting many options over small details.

See it in a sentence

My little brother is so picky that he only eats plain pasta without sauce.

She's picky about grammar and corrects every stray comma in her friends' emails.

A note on using this word

Picky is informal and often mildly critical; 'selective' is a more neutral or even positive way to describe the same trait.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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