touchy

[tuhch-ee]

adjective

touchier, touchiest 

1. apt to take offense on slight provocation; irritable.

   He is very touchy when he's sick.

   Synonyms: cranky, snappish, edgy, irascible, testy

2. requiring caution, tactfulness, or expert handling; precarious; risky.

   a touchy subject; a touchy situation.

3. sensitive to touch.

4. easily ignited, as tinder.

touchy

/ ˈtʌtʃɪ /

adjective

1. easily upset or irritated; oversensitive

2. extremely risky

3. easily ignited

Other Word Forms

• touchily adverb
• touchiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of touchy¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of techy ² (a variant of tetchy ( def. ) ), by association with touch

Synonym Study

See irritable.

Example Sentences

He would know well that this is a touchy subject for some in Lionsland, most notably the great Willie John McBride, who is not on board with so many 'foreigners' playing for the Lions.

Read more on BBC

Also addressed in the novel are touchier subjects like White’s advocacy for the lighter-skinned Horne to get roles over her darker-skinned colleagues like McDaniel or Beavers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Apparently veterans are very touchy about changing that and Trump seems to have dropped it.

Read more on Salon

“They have to get it legally approved and it’s touchy in terms of what they can use,” Sahai said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The creation — and Carter’s expansion — of Redwood National Park has long been a touchy subject along California’s rural, economically depressed North Coast, where the once-thriving logging industry cratered over the last half-century.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• delicate 
• dicey 
• hypersensitive 
• jumpy 
• precarious 
• risky 
• sensitive 
• testy 
• ticklish 
• tricky 
• uptight 
• volatile