feisty

[fahy-stee]

adjective

feistier, feistiest 

1. full of animation, energy, or courage; spirited; spunky; plucky.

   The champion is faced with a feisty challenger.

2. ill-tempered; pugnacious.

3. troublesome; difficult.

   feisty legal problems.

feisty

/ ˈfaɪstɪ /

adjective

1. lively, resilient, and self-reliant

2. frisky

3. irritable

Other Word Forms

• feistily adverb
• feistiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of feisty¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; feist + -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of feisty¹

C19: from dialect feist, fist small dog; related to Old English fīsting breaking wind

Example Sentences

Newly influential and feisty right-wing parties criticize the LDP for not being nationalist enough.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lives are altered as the salon workers go about their day braiding the hair of customers who range from docile and caring to feisty and acrimonious.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Paramount is paying around $150 million in cash and stock for The Free Press, a feisty, upstart operation that generated attention through opinion pieces and podcasts with a strong point of view.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Even the notoriously feisty New York fans were there in hope, rather than expectation.

Read more on BBC

And that experience and nous will be needed to deal with some of the feistiest fans in American sport and home players desperate to regain the trophy.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bubbly 
• courageous 
• excitable 
• fiery 
• gritty 
• gutsy 
• high-strung 
• lively 
• scrappy 
• spunky 

When To Use

What does feisty mean?

Feisty is used to describe someone or something that is full of energy or courage. Someone who’s described as feisty usually has a strong will and is unafraid of showing it, even in difficult circumstances or when challenged.Feisty is also used to describe a person or animal that is ill-tempered: Jack gets feisty when he is tired.Sometimes feisty is used to describe someone or something that is troublesome: My computer gets feisty whenever the software updates.   Feisty can be used as a compliment, praising someone’s courage, spiritedness, or pluckiness. Or it can be used somewhat critically, suggesting someone is prone to getting angry. Feisty depends on how someone thinks about the words and actions of the person or thing they think is feisty.Example: It took hours to catch the feisty puppy who easily outran all of us.