touching

American  

[tuhch-ing] / ˈtʌtʃ ɪŋ /

adjective

1. affecting; moving; pathetic.

   a touching scene of farewell.

   Synonyms:

   piteous, poignant, stirring

2. that touches.

   Synonyms:

   tangent

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preposition

1. in reference or relation to; concerning; about.

   He wrote touching future plans.

touching British  

/ ˈtʌtʃɪŋ /

adjective

1. evoking or eliciting tender feelings

   your sympathy is touching

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preposition

1. on the subject of; relating to

Other Word Forms

• touchingly adverb
• touchingness noun
• untouching adjective

Etymology

Origin of touching

First recorded in 1250–1300; touch + -ing ²

Example Sentences

One thing that surprised her was the level of instruction she got about touching patients.

From The Wall Street Journal

Now there were some peas touching his squash.

From Literature

The Scottish duo delivered a display that showed as much gallus as guts, their 7-4 win takes them top of the standings as the only unbeaten team and within touching distance of the semi-finals.

From BBC

The digital unit has now lost more than half its value since touching its record high above $126,000 in October.

From Barron's

I loved the challenge of exploring alien intellectual territory and touching on different means and methods of thought.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• heartbreaking
• pathetic
• poignant
• sad
• stirring
• stunning
• wistful