Kim Marcus
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If you're a reader of a certain age (say, a Boomer, Gen Xer, or even a Xennial) you may remember cheeky television commercials featuring Morris, a finicky housecat who only eats a certain brand of cat food. (Morris is still featured on product labels.) Morris's tastes in cuisine are not only very particular, but very fine as well, and that's appropriate given the origin of finicky. The word came about in the early 19th century as an alteration of the synonymous finicking, itself a 17th century alteration of another synonym, finical, which in turn is a late 16th century coinage likely derived from the adjective fine.
Synonyms of finicky
Examples of finicky in a Sentence
Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Feb. 2026
Orchids might seem like finicky houseplants, but with the proper care, that grocery store stunner can bloom for years and years.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
However, the safety market has been finicky, with the value of the position declining in recent years.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
There’s too much little finicky detail.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for finicky
Cite this Entry
“Finicky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finicky. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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