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:
Villa won but could have drawn - or equally triumphed more handsomely - during a game which went from comfortable to edgy to relief.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
She’s seen others pay a price for being edgy, so for breezy chitchat she sticks to asking about summer travel or new movies on Netflix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“I don’t think she’s a bad person, I think she’s a white person who was trying to be edgy and then just like doubled down her whole career,” Spooner told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
He was an active participant in defending Andrew Tate, using his influence to validate an accused predator because it fit the edgy, anti-establishment aesthetic of the modern manosphere media.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Get up,” he says, his horse still jumpy and edgy from the heat coming off me.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
Some have rejected the film as flimsy satire; others have wanted its message to be edgier and more obvious.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026
Allbirds tried to expand beyond its base of 30- and 40-year-olds by offering more technical running shoes and other sneakers in brighter colors and edgier patterns designed to attract younger customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 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
"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
Volpe began to dabble in somewhat edgier fare, beginning with Pippin, a dark and existential musical inspired by the story of Charlemagne’s rebellious son.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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
The result is a strong culinary heritage that even the edgiest chefs hold sacred — and, of course, draws food worshipers from around the world.
From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2022
Roasts, of course, are known for comedians often gleefully showcasing their edgiest, most offensive and vile material.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2022
Charlotte has never been the edgiest tool in the box, but I know she reads Vogue, where style can mean pants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2021
“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
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.
