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punchy

[puhn-chee]
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adjective, punch·i·er, punch·i·est. Informal.
  1. punch-drunk.
  2. being or appearing vigorously effective; forceful.
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Origin of punchy

First recorded in 1935–40; punch1 + -y1
Related formspunch·i·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for punchy

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Beautiful place, Punchy, and the mountain air seems to come down with the water and fill you full of strength.

    !Tention

    George Manville Fenn

  • Bagsby was a punchy man, with a bald head, and a nose which betokened his habitual addiction to the fiery grape of Portugal.

  • The wind would almost tear the roof off, and Punchy howled—he thought he was dying, too, maybe.

    The Brass Bound Box

    Evelyn Raymond

  • I get another cuffing around but I am too punchy already to feel anything.

    Operation Earthworm

    Joe Archibald

British Dictionary definitions for punchy

punchy

adjective punchier or punchiest
  1. an informal word for punch-drunk
  2. informal incisive or forcefula punchy article
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Derived Formspunchily, adverbpunchiness, noun
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

Word Origin and History for punchy

adj.1

"nervously anxious; irritable from fatigue," 1937, from punch (v.) + -y (2). Perhaps originally a shortening of punch-drunk. Related: Punchily; punchiness.

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adj.2

"full of vigor," 1926, from punch (n.3) + -y (2). Related: Punchily; punchiness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper