finicky
fin·ick·y/ˈfɪnɪki/adjective
finicky is spelled F-I-N-I-C-K-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables (fin·ick·y). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, finicky means “Fastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting, especially about details” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in finicky?
| Letters | 7: F-I-N-I-C-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: fin·ick·y |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,108th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is finicky?
Finicky appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce finicky?
- /ˈfɪnɪki/
Finicky has 3 syllables, split fin·ick·y in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-finicky.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of finicky
- finickier comparative
- more finicky comparative
- finickiest superlative
- most finicky superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does finicky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
informalFastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting, especially about details.
My editor is very finicky about punctuation. Every dot and comma has to be just right.
- 2
informalDemanding; requiring above-normal care.
The lawnmower is a bit finicky in cold weather.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Finicky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pinailleur, pointilleux, scrupuleux |
| German | kleinlich, anspruchsvoll, wählerisch, pedantisch, etepetete, zimperlich |
| Portuguese | meticuloso, minucioso |
| Spanish | fastidioso, melindroso, remilgado, puntilloso, quisquilloso, tiquismiquis |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does finicky come from?
From finick (“to work in a fastidious manner, wasting time over unnecessary details”) + -y. Compare finicking, finical, and dated finikin. Perhaps suggested by obsolete Dutch fijnkens (“accurately, neatly, prettily”) (modern Dutch fijntjes). Compare also Sicilian finicchiu.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).