edgy
Americanadjective
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nervously irritable; impatient and anxious.
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sharp-edged; sharply defined, as outlines.
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daringly innovative; on the cutting edge.
adjective
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(usually postpositive) nervous, irritable, tense, or anxious
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(of paintings, drawings, etc) excessively defined
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innovative, or at the cutting edge, with the concomitant qualities of intensity and excitement
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of edgy
Explanation
If you're edgy, you're uptight, tense, or anxious. You might find yourself getting nervous and edgy right before you take a difficult test. A tendency to get edgy — irritable and jittery — might be a result of too much coffee, or just a personality trait. It's not a very helpful habit in most cases, leading you to snap at other people or just feel tense. An informal way to use edgy is to mean "experimental or daring." In the 18th century, something edgy literally had sharp edges, but by the early 1800s it came to mean "tense and irritable."
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.
See Examples For:
Ownership of a copy became shorthand for edgy, intellectual sensitivity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Phil became an opera company and Disney an almost fullfledged opera house, staging Mozart’s three Da Ponte operas with sets by famed architects, beginning with Gehry, and costumes by edgy designers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Now, the chain known for its deals and edgy marketing is cranking up its offerings again in a bid to quickly recover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
However, traders remain edgy and tech firms once again saw big moves Monday, with Seoul swinging from a near two percent gain to a more than two percent loss.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Don’t know why I got edgy ’bout it.
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
If SGA’s interviews were edgier, if his game were a little more noisy, if his sneakers were more au courant than good ol’ Converse…it might be different.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
So whether you want family-friendly fare, holiday vibes, relaxing release or edgier escapism – there’s plenty to check out.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
She worked alongside Christophe Loiron of Mister Freedom and other “rockabilly and edgier, slightly goth” kinds of people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
"If it was edgy to do jeans for November 1988, I think it was even edgier for her to do Madonna," says Amy Odell, author of Anna: The Biography.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2025
In another reality, Leo might’ve enjoyed a walk on the beach with a pretty girl, but the farther they went, the edgier he felt.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Every Disney movie raises us to recognize that villains always get the best lines, the edgiest wardrobes and, sometimes, the most darling pets.
From Salon ● Jan. 28, 2026
Ready your comfiest shoes, flounciest outfits and edgiest eyewear — it’s art fair season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2023
“Ted Lasso,” for example, “isn’t the edgiest show. It’s a feel-good show and something that, apart from a couple parts here and there, could easily be a broadcast show.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2021
James DeMonaco’s scripts for “The Purge” play out like drafts from the edgiest guy in your Intro to Creative Writing class.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2021
It remains one of SNL’s edgiest efforts to date.
From Washington Post ● May 20, 2021
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.
