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testy

[ tes-tee ]
/ ˈtɛs ti /
||
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adjective, tes·ti·er, tes·ti·est.

irritably impatient; touchy.

RELATED WORDS

sullen, cantankerous, cranky, edgy, impatient, uptight, quarrelsome, grumpy, annoyed, exasperated, bad-tempered, captious, choleric, cross, crotchety, fretful, grouchy, irascible, mean, ornery

Nearby words

  1. testoon,
  2. testosterone,
  3. testudinal,
  4. testudinate,
  5. testudo,
  6. tet,
  7. tet offensive,
  8. tetanic,
  9. tetaniform,
  10. tetanigenous

Origin of testy

1325–75; late Middle English testi, alteration of Middle French testu headstrong; replacing Middle English testif < Middle French. See test2, -ive
ANTONYMS FOR testy
composed.
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Related formstes·ti·ly, adverbtes·ti·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for testy

British Dictionary definitions for testy

testy

/ (ˈtɛstɪ) /

adjective -tier or -tiest

irritable or touchy
Derived Formstestily, adverbtestiness, noun

Word Origin for testy

C14: from Anglo-Norman testif headstrong, from Old French teste head, from Late Latin testa skull, from Latin: shell
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 testy

testy

adj.

c.1500, "impetuous, rash," from Middle English testif "headstrong" (late 14c.), from Anglo-French testif, Old French testu "stubborn," literally "heady," from teste "head," from Late Latin testa "skull," in classical Latin "pot, shell" (see tester (n.2)). Meaning "easily irritated" is first recorded 1520s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper