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.
Some controversial jokes by lesser, edgy comedians fell flat but Jeff Ross, the master of roasts, held the tempo together and kept the roast moving forward.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
In a time where edgy influencers like Clavicular and HSTikkyTokky are reposted, shared, and platformed for their ability to provoke, morality is bartered for popularity.
From Slate • May 12, 2026
The world's biggest film festival, which kicks off on Tuesday, has long relied on Hollywood to provide a dose of mass-market entertainment alongside the sometimes edgy independent cinema that forms the core of its programme.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
Roth likes the model’s idiosyncrasies: “If you don’t have an edgy personality, you feel like it’s sycophantic. It’s just going to please you too much,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
“I told them I wanted to change,” Cole said, his voice edgy.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
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.
