tweaking

[ twee-king ]

noun

1. the act of pinching and pulling something with a jerk and twist:

   A slight tweaking of his lips and a furrowing of his brow expressed his disapproval.

2. the act of making minor adjustments to something:

   A mere tweaking of some bit of technology is not going to fix this massive problem.

3. the act of annoying, teasing, or making fun of someone:

   The movie seems like it might be an affectionate tweaking of the nerd generation.

4. Slang. the act of using methamphetamine, cocaine, or other stimulant drugs, or of behaving wildly or erratically under their influence (usually followed by out ):

   Why do people take stuff they’re "not sure of" and then complain about tweaking out—or worse, ending up in the hospital?

5. Slang. the act of behaving or causing someone to behave in a wildly excited or agitated manner (usually followed by out ); freaking out:

   What with his tweaking out over every little mistake, the boss hasn’t been anyone's hero of late.

adjective

1. making minor adjustments to something:

   I’m so happy with the sound—a huge antidote for me coming from the ever tweaking, never satisfied audiophile world.

2. Slang. behaving in a wildly excited or agitated manner, especially as an effect of using methamphetamine, cocaine, or other stimulant drugs:

   He was pacing around and bursting in and out of emotional fits like a tweaking junkie.

3. Slang. (used as an intensifier):

   What kind of a tweaking idiot would do that?

adverb

1. Slang. (used as an intensifier):

   These fudge brownies are tweaking amazing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tweaking¹

First recorded in 1610–20; tweak + -ing ¹ for the noun senses; tweak + -ing ² for the adjective and adverb senses

Example Sentences

He explained that has begun with tweaking his extensive work to become more accessible to himself.

From Salon

She suggested that people should aim towards tweaking their compliments or ignoring something that bothers them so they don't comment at all to "keep each other safer."

From Salon

As its ranking member, Cassidy has called for reforming NIH, including tweaking peer review and increasing basic research.

From Science Magazine

On the other side, Labour’s union backers are pleased with extra cash for some public services, and the tweaking of the borrowing rules so more money is available to spend on long-term projects.

From BBC

There are a lot of creations I’m proud of, but they’ve needed some tweaking to be enjoyed in real life settings.

From Salon

Related Words

• tease
• twist