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Synonyms

touchy

American  
[tuhch-ee] / ˈtʌtʃ i /

adjective

touchier, touchiest

  1. apt to take offense on slight provocation; irritable.

    He is very touchy when he's sick.
    Synonyms:
    cranky, snappish, edgy, irascible, testy

  2. requiring caution, tactfulness, or expert handling; precarious; risky.

    a touchy subject; a touchy situation.

  3. sensitive to touch.

  4. easily ignited, as tinder.

touchy British  
/ ˈtʌtʃɪ /

adjective

  1. easily upset or irritated; oversensitive

  2. extremely risky

  3. easily ignited

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See irritable.

Other Word Forms

  • touchily adverb
  • touchiness noun

Etymology

Origin of touchy

First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of techy 2 (a variant of tetchy ( def. ) ), by association with touch

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.