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Glite Dictionary
picky about

picky about

3 6.8
Careful about choosing things like clothes or food and hard to please
  • idiom
  • /ˈpɪki əˈbaʊt/
  • Informal
translation icon : exigente con
  • I am not picky about jobs.
  • pretty picky about
  • very picky about
  • picky about food

Law firms are not known for being particularly picky about their clients.

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Examples

  • Law firms are not known for being particularly picky about their clients.

    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  • And so I'm really, really picky about who I will give my attention to, social media, podcasts, YouTube books.

    Tom Ferry

  • And of course, that means that you are going to have to be extremely picky about what you choose to read.

  • Just be very picky about what we buy as an end point in the production cycle.

  • So just be very picky about who you choose to be around and let those that get mad be mad.

  • Yeah, Bill was very picky about his stereo stuff.

    I'll See You in My Dreams (2015)

  • - I'm kind of picky about what I eat.

    Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

  • She is picky about food.

    Limbo (1999)

  • I can't afford to be too picky about where I work or how long I have to be there.

    Blog text (28)

  • She's quite picky about her clothes, only wearing outfits that match her style.

Synonyms

particular
vspicky about
106 4.4

Careful about small details and hard to please

is the everyday colloquial way to say someone is selective about something
fussy
vspicky about
24 3.9

Easily annoyed and hard to please about small things

is mainly about being selective without implying annoyance or mood
finicky
vspicky about
12 7.1

Hard to please and careful about small details

is more about simple selectiveness without the same focus on fine detail
nitpicky
vspicky about
  • Informal
4 7.9

Paying too much attention to small unimportant details and criticizing them

is about choosing carefully rather than criticizing tiny mistakes or faults
persnickety
vspicky about
  • Informal
4 9.8

Being very picky about small details

is used to describe selectiveness about things rather than tiny details
finickety about
vspicky about
9.1

Being very picky about small details when choosing or arranging things

is used more generally for strong selectiveness without sounding excessive
piccy about
vspicky about
  • UK
9.9

Choosy about small details and what they accept

is used broadly for being selective about a specific thing rather than choices
choosey
vspicky about
  • Informal
6.8

A person who is very picky about what they accept

is a conversational term for being very selective about one thing
overly fussy
vspicky about
6.1

Too worried about small details and hard to please

is a neutral colloquial label for being selective without excess
finical
vspicky about
9.9

Careful about small details and hard to please

is used more for selective choice rather than precise exactness

Antonyms

easygoing
22 2.6

Being calm and relaxed and not easily upset

How Selective

fastidious
8 8.0
selective
118 4.3
picky about
  • Informal
3 6.8
choosy
15 3.9
undemanding
1 3.5

Surface Forms

picky about positive

Morphology

picky + about

The meaning 'very selective regarding X' is directly and compositionally derived from 'picky' (selective) plus the preposition 'about' marking the target domain, so a learner who knows both words can infer the phrase. This is a common, predictable construction in English (and mirrored in many languages), making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Picky about may come from the verb pick, which means 'to choose'. Imagine someone picking tiny pieces from their plate or refusing many options; that's why picky about means 'very selective' or 'fussy' about something.