adjective
preposition
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of touching
Explanation
Something that is touching affects you emotionally—it makes you feel sad or tender. A touching video about baby hedgehogs might even make your stoic older sister cry. The adjective touching comes from a particular meaning of the verb touch, "to affect or move mentally or emotionally," from the idea that something has "touched" your mind or heart. Your book report might describe the story you read as touching if it left you wiping away a tear.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Death is not the only source of lasting pain, of course: Ms. Carr writes with touching power of the divorce-related family separations of her own girlhood.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
It noted thousands of complaints by customers about "Joy-Con drift", with toggles stuck in one direction on the original version of the Switch, even when users were not touching them.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
Trump later told reporters the ballroom "won't interfere with the current building… It'll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building".
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
Aidar was quoted in the news about Filó, saying she objected to the influencer bringing Filó into his house, touching her, and treating her like a human.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
I looked up to see that someone had put food on our table, but no one was touching the sad-looking sandwiches.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
