Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

finicky

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore F words

excessively particular or hard to please about details

Word origin: From fine, refined, plus the diminutive suffix -icky.

Start a free GRE mock test 39 minutes · free · instant score
In a sentence

Finicky in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing finicky in a sentence.

The finicky editor returned the manuscript covered in red ink corrections.

The vintage engine proved finicky, refusing to start in even mildly damp weather.

Synonyms
Antonyms
easygoingtolerantindifferentflexible

Quick GRE check

Question 1 of 3

3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?

Verbal · Text Completion

Critics initially dismissed the composer's late works as merely blank, but later scholars recognized in them a deliberate restraint that concealed considerable technical sophistication.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “finicky” well

Finicky means hard to please about small details, applied to fussy people and to temperamental machines or processes alike. It is more colloquial than fastidious but overlaps in meaning.

Common questions

Questions about “finicky”

Finicky (adjective) means excessively particular or hard to please about details
Here is finicky used in an example sentence: "The finicky editor returned the manuscript covered in red ink corrections." Another example: "The vintage engine proved finicky, refusing to start in even mildly damp weather."
Common synonyms for finicky include fussy, fastidious, picky, meticulous.
Antonyms of finicky include easygoing, tolerant, indifferent, flexible.
Clusters with fussy, fastidious, picky, and meticulous in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms easygoing, tolerant, indifferent, and flexible mark the contrast.
Yes. Finicky is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

See these words the way the GRE tests them.

Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.