persnickety
Americanadjective
-
overparticular; fussy.
- Synonyms:
- finicky
-
snobbish or having the aloof attitude of a snob.
-
requiring painstaking care.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- persnicketiness noun
Etymology
Origin of persnickety
1885–90; originally Scots, variant of pernickety
Explanation
Persnickety is a lively, fancy word for “fussy.” If you've sent your salad back to the kitchen three times, you might be a persnickety eater. The adjective persnickety sounds prickly like a porcupine, and persnickety people can indeed be sharp and prickly when they don't get things precisely as they wish. If you're persnickety about your coffee, you'll probably want to put the cream and sugar in yourself.
Vocabulary lists containing persnickety
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s certainly a sight better than Operation Total Nuuk Submission, which requires agitating the whole of the European Continent, weirding out allies, and posturing over title like a persnickety real-estate agent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026
“Don’t go writing that she’s persnickety about her water,” Underwood joked.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2025
This pie will impress even your persnickety aunt.
From Salon • Nov. 26, 2024
Earlier, more persnickety machines would operate between 50% and 75% of the available time, vexing officials trying to schedule a facility’s users.
From Science Magazine • May 3, 2023
The point here is to make your animal understand that its upstairs neighbour is exceptionally persnickety about territory.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
