touchy
Americanadjective
adjective
-
easily upset or irritated; oversensitive
-
extremely risky
-
easily ignited
Synonym Usage
See irritable.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of touchy
First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of techy 2 (a variant of tetchy ( def. ) ), by association with touch
Explanation
Things that are touchy are hard to handle — not literally, but to talk about. Touchy subjects make people upset. There are a lot of touchy topics in life. Religion is a big one, since people have such different yet strong beliefs. Racism and sexism are touchy. Politics can be touchy. Asking someone how old they are or what they weigh are very touchy questions. Something is touchy if you need to handle it with kid gloves — or maybe avoid the topic altogether. People often use euphemisms — soft, evasive terms — for touchy subjects, to make discussing them easier.
Vocabulary lists containing touchy
The Catcher in the Rye
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Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
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The Battle of the Labyrinth
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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.
Owners of the Crayola Touchy Feely Craft Box and Crayola Discovery Craft Box should stop using the products immediately and keep out of the reach of children, the government said.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Touchy: For people who have taken a tough stance, you and your wife seem especially vulnerable to the opinions of others.
From Washington Post • Nov. 19, 2021
Touchy advertisers did not want their commercials running adjacent to the PSA.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2020
Dear Touchy, There’s a reason doctors are not supposed to treat family members.
From Slate • Oct. 21, 2015
Touchy as his infirmities had left him, his vanity of author made him as tender as a green wound.
From The Fool Errant Being the Memoirs of Francis-Anthony Strelley, Esq., Citizen of Lucca by Hewlett, Maurice Henry
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.
