thin-skinned

American  

[thin-skind] / ˈθɪnˈskɪnd /

adjective

1. having a thin skin.

2. sensitive to criticism, reproach, or rebuff; easily offended; touchy.

   a thin-skinned poet.

   Synonyms:

   susceptible, soft, squeamish

---

thin-skinned British  

adjective

1. sensitive to criticism or hints; easily upset or affected

---

Etymology

Origin of thin-skinned

First recorded in 1590–1600

Explanation

To be thin-skinned is to be sensitive, especially to criticism and slights. Thin-skinned people are quick to take offense. If your skin is literally thin, soft, and tender — like a baby's — than you're going to be hurt more easily if you get scraped or cut. Similarly, a thin-skinned person gets emotionally hurt more often than most people. If you're thin-skinned, you take criticism, rejection, disappointment, and failure very hard. Being left out of anything could be perceived as a major insult. If you forget a thin-skinned person's birthday, they’ll probably hold a grudge.

Example Sentences

Trump loves a win and he's very thin-skinned.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2025

This is the same thin-skinned coach who this year closed practice to the media, the same one who last year suspended a Southern California New Group reporter for alleged violations of the program’s media policy.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2024

Nandor is only doing what any thin-skinned former conqueror would do in a world that dismisses him, throwing wild swings in the dark.

From Salon • Nov. 11, 2024

“When they went and criticized him, he got thin-skinned and suddenly started to fight back,” Ms. Haley said.

From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2024

She and I make a bad combination, because I’m a Rabbit, born in 1951, supposedly sensitive, with tendencies toward being thin-skinned and skittery at the first sign of criticism.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan