feisty
Americanadjective
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feistier,
comparative
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feistiest
superlative
-
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.
adjective
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lively, resilient, and self-reliant
-
frisky
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irritable
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of feisty
Explanation
Feisty is a word for someone who is touchy or quarrelsome. It can also mean "showing courage or determination." If you're huffy or thin-skinned, you're feisty. Feisty people often seem to be itching for a fight. On the other hand, this has a more positive meaning. It may also describe a courageous or spirited person, especially one who is smaller or an underdog. A small boxer knocking out a huge opponent is feisty. Little dogs barking at huge dogs are feisty in both senses: they're being brave, but they're also a little too quick to open their yaps.
Vocabulary lists containing feisty
Dear Martin
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Game Changer
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Warriors Don't Cry (Abridged)
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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.
See Examples For:
"Watching it in person was even better than watching it online," Fox host and conservative activist Riley Gaines wrote on X after one particularly feisty briefing room exchange.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
As of Thursday, she was in critical condition and receiving intensive care, though she’d regained some of her feisty energy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
A feisty audience watches from the balcony or nearby monitors, where the action—and their prediction bets on it—flashes on the screens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Virtually unknown a year ago, Platner has barnstormed across Maine, delivering a feisty, anti-establishment message.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
“She says feisty people make good workers and that we have to pay her rent.”
From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys
These Bruins are deeper, more talented and feistier than the freshman-heavy bunch that finished with a losing record last season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
When I want something a little feistier and more savory, to quickly layer onto a pizza or lasagna or eggplant parm — especially when I have no time at all — Heidi's is it.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2022
Unseld and Smith helped kick-start a feistier second half, but the Wizards had an impossible game of catch-up.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
A weightier, feistier Bruckner’s Fourth was on display on Sunday in Mr. Dudamel’s account with the Los Angeles players.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2019
The kid on the other tire looked feistier than her pal.
From "Fourth Grade Rats" by Jerry Spinelli
But the feistiest face-off on the undercard went to heavyweights Thomas Carty and Jay McFarlane.
From BBC ● May 19, 2023
They seemed like the feistiest team in MLB.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2022
At 5 feet 7 and 150 pounds, 17-year-old senior Robert Sarmiento of San Pedro is the feistiest, most exciting football player in the City Section.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2021
Check out some enduring trends showcased by each of Miami’s feistiest citizens.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 16, 2020
Miranda Lambert is one of the feistiest and most accomplished live performers in country music.
From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2018
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.
