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What adjective would be used to describe an attitude where one is not too demanding about something (like the food they eat, the clothes they wear, etc.).

I'm looking for a word that sounds fairly informal or colloquial.

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    merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picky
    – DoneWithThis.
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 9:47
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    Not posting as an answer because you are specifically looking for another word and there are several valid answers here, but I would say that in my AmE experience simply "I'm not picky"/"(S)he's not picky" seems to be a very common informal/colloquial phrasing.
    – Bryan Krause
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 17:34
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    Can't share as an actual answer, but how about "Indifferent"?. Meaning unconcerned regarding the outcome. any of the available options are fine. I use it routinely myself when a group of friends are deciding where to go for food and ask for my opinion "Eh, I'm pretty indifferent, they're all good"
    – Ruadhan2300
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 10:08
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    For what it's worth, one problem you'll run into with this topic is that we use different words to talk about ourselves and others. "I'm easy/open/game for..." versus "He's not demanding/fussy/particular about..." In general, we frame ourselves in terms of attitude and others in terms of how much of a pain they're being.
    – lly
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 13:38
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    You should provide an example sentence or sentences with a blank where you want the adjective to go.
    – CJ Dennis
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 23:33

12 Answers 12

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I might use easygoing, which is synonymous with undemanding. M-W lists it as any antonym of fussy, which can be applied to tastes in food or clothes.

One definition that fits this context is:

easygoing (adj) relaxed and informal in attitude or standards

An example sentence might be:

Diane is really picky about what she eats, but her sister Jill is much more easygoing.

An idiom that might work is go with the flow, which Macmillan defines as:

go with the flow (phrase) do what seems like the easiest thing in a particular situation

This may not a precise fit, but it could work depending on what you were trying to convey:

Every time we go to the mall, Diane is really picky about clothes, but Jill just goes with the flow. She'll pretty much agree to anything we suggest.

The phrase go with the flow suggests a calm and accepting attitude.

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    If you mean "picky" as in willfully selective (i.e. not wanting to eat something rather than genuinely not liking it), then "open [to something]" can also be a workable antonym. Picky can be used in a few different cases (related as to how/why a certain option is discarded), which influences the correct antonym. This is similar to how the antonym of "man" can change with a different context: woman (gender), boy (maturity), mouse (courage), animal (civility), machine (organic/artificial)
    – Flater
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 7:38
  • More idiomatic to me would be "adventurous", especially with regard to food.
    – Alex Reinking
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 22:15
  • @AlexR - I agree; I think "adventurous" would be an excellent word to use, especially when one is trying a food they have never eaten before.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 22:35
  • @J.R. - I can't add an answer of my own, but feel free to add it to yours if you like it :)
    – Alex Reinking
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 23:09
  • "Go with the flow" means you are happy to do what everybody else is doing. That can mean someone is agreeable and undemanding in general, but I don't see how that could apply to clothing. Would that mean wearing what other people want? Or wearing what everybody else is wearing?
    – Astralbee
    Commented Jun 1, 2018 at 6:45
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We can use flexible, which is often used casually.

Formally, this is defined as: (of a person) ready and able to change so as to adapt to different circumstances.

In context:
- "I'm hungry, let's eat! Any preferences?"
- "Oh anything's fine, I'm flexible."

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    Flexible is by no means the opposite of picky, not even in your example, especially because one can be picky and flexible at the same time (the former doesn't mutually exclude the latter).
    – gented
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 13:58
  • @gented - Agreed. "Flexible", which can mean you're open to options in this case, typically is still couched in the fact that the flexible person is picky, but there is a little leeway for other options. You can only be so flexible before you flex too far and "break".
    – BruceWayne
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 21:08
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I would suggest:

  • undemanding (if speaking about food or requirements)
  • casual (about clothing or attitude in general)

In colloquial speech (bear in mind I am a native British English speaker. My colloquialisms may not be quite the same in American English) you may hear:

"I'm easy"

in response to a question about tastes, likes, dislikes. This conveys a casual attitude, that you have no specific likes or dislikes.

Or:

"I'm not fussy" (informal)
"I'm not particular" (slightly more formal)

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    "I'm easy" works well in the US, too. It's commonly heard and general-purpose enough to work in these situations.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 13:59
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    Be careful about using "I'm easy" without supplying immediate context, since it can imply specifically "I am the opposite of picky when it comes to sexual partners."
    – Bryan Krause
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 17:31
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    Errr... sure, with no context. If I asked someone "How do you like your eggs?" and they responded with "I'm easy." I'd take it to mean "whatever way you cook them", not "hey lets smash"...
    – Monica Apologists Get Out
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 20:29
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    @Adonalsium I personally wouldn't understand the intended meaning in that context either (this thread is the first I've heard of this meaning to be honest) and would assume you wanted your eggs over easy.
    – Sparksbet
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 7:03
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    @user46359 I mean, I'm hardly gonna claim "easy" is never used as described in this answer, but I would be very hesitant to use it like that -- if a native speaker in her 20s is unfamiliar with using "easy" to mean "not picky", it might go over quite a few other people's heads, and I think it's best to generally tread carefully when it comes to anything with potential sexual connotations (after all, think of the potential confusion with a statement like "we should invite her to dinner; she's easy.")
    – Sparksbet
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 7:08
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I would suggest unfussy. It was my immediate reaction when I saw the question title.

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    I think "not fussy" would sound more natural
    – Melkor
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 18:35
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    @Melkor Right? I was even starting to say that 'unfussy' would work better with things than people... but even things are 'not fussy' rather than 'unfussy'. I suppose it might work in a parallel structure with some other un- prefixed adjectives, though.
    – lly
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 13:50
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    I hear "not fussed" a lot too, which may be poor English but does sound colloquial for it. "What do you want for your tea?" "(I'm) not fussed". Very much a verbal shrug.
    – AdamV
    Commented Nov 25, 2022 at 14:58
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If asked for a general preference, e.g.

What type of X do you like?

the most natural responses to my ears are:

I'm not fussy.

I'm not picky.

I'm easy. (adjective, sense 6)

Although easy can have a sexual connotation, most of the time it won't. You'll get a knowing glance because of the double entendre, but people won't accidentally misunderstand.

If directly asked for a choice, e.g.

What type of X do you want?

other possible responses are:

I don't mind. (verb, sense 3)

I'm not bothered.

I'm not fussed.

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Easy, easygoing, and game are all good choices and already mentioned.

Since no one posted it yet, though, I'll also throw out laid back or laid-back. The OED has it in the figurative sense of 'relaxed' since at least 1974:

It's all cheerfully grotty and relaxed in the usual laid-back Montreal style.

Wiktionary is unsourced but claims it goes back to the '50s.

Really, any synonym for 'relaxed' is going to work here with a little context. Some fairly popular recent slang would be chill or down for whatever. The later can have sexual connotations as a general description, but works just fine in response to a focused question.

Whaddya wanna eat?

Man, I'm down for whatever.

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Related to Martin Bonner's and Astralbee's answers, the best single-word antonym I can think of is unparticular:

adjective: Not particular; especially not exacting, fastidious, or fussy.

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Relaxed is another good word: "Don't worry, she's pretty relaxed about food." Merriam-Webster defines it as "easy of manner" which seems to fit your request.

"Relaxed" also comes up in a search for a translation of "fünfe gerade sein lassen" (literally "let five be even", i.e. don't insist on formalities, don't be fussy, be flexible — the German answer to your question).

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A less popular but still sometimes used word is catholic (lower case "c"):

2 : comprehensive, universal; especially : broad in sympathies, tastes, or interests - a catholic taste in music

Merriam Webster

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    That was new to me. Interesting find. I knew Catholics had more fun!
    – Peter - Reinstate Monica
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 22:05
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    Much less popular and not informal at all. This sense of catholic has to reach all the way around the Roman church to the original Greek sense of 'general', 'universal', 'all-encompassing'. It could definitely work in some tightly honed fiction like Nabokov, though.
    – lly
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 13:47
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    @Acccumulation FYI I've never pronounced "Catholic" differently from "catholic". If I've heard them pronounced differently, I'm not aware of it. Can you explain the difference?
    – Todd Wilcox
    Commented Jun 1, 2018 at 15:14
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    @ToddWilcox "Catholic" is pronounced "CATH-lic". "catholic" is pronounced "ca-THOL-ic".
    – Acccumulation
    Commented Jun 1, 2018 at 15:35
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    @Acccumulation The Merriam-Webster link in my answer disagrees with your second pronunciation, but that doesn't mean Merriam-Webster is right. I've never heard "ca-THOL-ic" in my life, and despite all the downvoters, I've heard the word catholic used to mean "not picky" many times.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Commented Jun 1, 2018 at 15:38
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A word that's very similar in meaning to the adjective picky would be finicky. The opposite of finicky then would be unfinicky which is defined simply as:

not finicky

You could also consider the word unfastidious which, as with unfinicky, is simply the opposite of fastidious:

not fastidious: not extremely or excessively careful, selective, difficult to please, etc.

In all honesty though, you would probably be better off sticking to not finicky and not fastidious rather than the contrived-sounding unfinicky and unfastidious:

He's not finicky about the food he eats. So, when it comes to food, he's a person that's not very hard to please.

She's not very fastidious about the clothes she wears. In fact, she buys most of her clothes in second-hand stores.

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It may not be a special word, but in my experience, the most common antonym for picky is not picky.

"Where would you like to eat dinner" "Oh anywhere is fine, I'm not picky."

"It's easy taking my daughter clothes shopping, she's not picky about brands."

"Did you see the guy Sheila was out with last week? Looks like someone is not very picky..."

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  • The expression "not picky" was already suggested by @CJ Dennis
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 1, 2018 at 19:23
  • Yeah, that's the problem with having six or seven suggestions in a single answer, it's hard to tell what's been posted before, and impossible to vote for just one. Oh well, as a mere human, I am subject to such failings.
    – barbecue
    Commented Jun 1, 2018 at 21:23
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I know only two one-word words, but both are rather formal:

  • Unpretentious
  • Modest

You could also say "not too picky" or "not too demanding".

If about food, you could say "hearty eater".

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    I'm not native English speaker, but those two words looks formal and more applicable to clothes than to food, don't they? What about "unfussy"? (I've found that one in the link provided by Tetsujin)
    – RubioRic
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 10:20
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    @RubioRic Neither of those could be applied to taste in food, and "unfussy" is what I was about to suggest!
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 14:53

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