feisty

[ fahy-stee ]

/ ˈfaɪ sti /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR feisty ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, feist·i·er, feist·i·est.

full of animation, energy, or courage; spirited; spunky; plucky: The champion is faced with a feisty challenger.

ill-tempered; pugnacious.

troublesome; difficult: feisty legal problems.

Words nearby feisty

feira de santana, feirie, feisal i, feisal ii, feist, feisty, felafel, feldene, feldenkrais method, feldsher, feldspar

Origin of feisty

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; feist + -y¹

OTHER WORDS FROM feisty

feist·i·ly, adverbfeist·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for feisty

The feisty airline is the brainchild of entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, a Malaysian of Indian descent who also is a British citizen.
The Presumed Crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Is Nothing Like MH370|Lennox Samuels|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The House caucus appears to be far more populist, feisty, and ready to push the debate on economic issues than it has in the past.
‘Cromnibus’ Passes, But Did Anyone Win?|Ben Jacobs|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sitting at a cozy café in the center of Tel Aviv, Kallai looks nothing like the feisty woman he plays on screen.
Trans in the Holy Land: ‘Marzipan Flowers,’ Tal Kallai, and the Shattering of Israel’s LGBT Taboos|Itay Hod|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She has since become an accomplished and feisty human rights lawyer.
Meet Amal Alamuddin, George Clooney’s Wife|Lizzie Crocker, Chris Allbritton|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The feisty feminist in me has often warred with the longtime gamer in me.
The Cake Is a Lie: Sexism Isn’t a Boss Gamer Girls Can Beat|Emily V Gordon|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I get sort of feisty and want to dav-il her by makin' you look pretty.
The Power and the Glory|Grace MacGowan Cooke
On an impulse he stepped up to the small man who began a grin of recognition, a grin that transformed his feisty face.
Mercenary|Dallas McCord Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for feisty

feisty

/ (ˈfaɪstɪ) /

adjective feistier or feistiest informal

lively, resilient, and self-reliant

US and Canadian frisky

US and Canadian irritable

Word Origin for feisty

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

feisty

adjective, feist·i·er, feist·i·est.

Words related to feisty

Words nearby feisty

Origin of feisty

OTHER WORDS FROM feisty

Examples from the Web for feisty

British Dictionary definitions for feisty

adjective feistier or feistiest informal

Word Origin for feisty