itching
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or characterized by an irritating sensation of the skin.
-
of, relating to, or having a longing or desire to do or have something.
An itching public anxiously awaits her announcement.
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characterized by restlessness or the desire for adventure or activity.
an itching impulse to travel.
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characterized by the desire to grasp; grasping; an itching palm open for a bribe.
noun
Other Word Forms
- itchingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of itching
before 1000; Middle English ( y ) ichinge, ( y ) itchinge (noun, adj.); replacing Old English giccende (adj.). See itch, -ing 2, -ing 1
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.
My hair has curled back up at the ends, and it’s itching my neck.
From Literature
"He was on the sideline for a while with his coat off, he was itching to get on," Farrell said of McCarthy, whose adventurous burst down the left wing helped set up Osborne's try.
From BBC
But the words are itching to come out.
From Literature
I struggled to remain still, and the itching stirred up an uncomfortable memory also involving straw.
From Literature
At the time she didn’t know what was causing pain in her right leg and the intense itching on her arms, legs and torso — or why her handwriting had “gone funky.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
