ticklish

[ tik-lish ]

/ ˈtɪk lɪʃ /

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See synonyms for: ticklish / ticklishness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

sensitive to tickling.

requiring careful or delicate handling or action; difficult or risky; dicey: a ticklish situation.

extremely sensitive; touchy: He is ticklish about being interrupted.

unstable or easily upset, as a boat; unsteady.

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Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of ticklish

First recorded in 1575–85; tickle + -ish¹

OTHER WORDS FROM ticklish

tick·lish·ly, adverbtick·lish·ness, noun

Words nearby ticklish

tickle one's fancy, tickler, tickler coil, tickler file, tickle the ivories, ticklish, tickly, Ticknor, tick off, tick over, tickseed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ticklish in a sentence

I ran my thumb across my sole and felt a jolting, ticklish sensation I later learned meant I had nerve damage.
Do FKTs Miss the Point?|cobrien|December 7, 2021|Outside Online
But as a Senate candidate, especially one looking to woo Tea Party types, her situation is somewhat more ticklish.
Liz Cheney Uses Syria to (Try to) Salvage Her Campaign Train Wreck|Michelle Cottle|September 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Here am I, trying to get you out of a mighty ticklish situation, and you go and get funny.
Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays|Various
He knows a lot of useful stuff, and these are ticklish times.'
Sarah's School Friend|May Baldwin

He settled back on his haunches and gave a little thought to the matter, and understood that he had a ticklish job ahead of him.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day
It was a ticklish business recovering the sledge which hung suspended in the crevasse.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
It164 would have been a ticklish business to make one's way along the deck then, he thought.
Tom Slade with the Colors|Percy K. Fitzhugh

British Dictionary definitions for ticklish

ticklish

/ (ˈtɪklɪʃ) /

adjective

susceptible and sensitive to being tickled

delicate or difficulta ticklish situation

easily upset or offended

Derived forms of ticklish

ticklishly, adverbticklishness, 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

ticklish

Origin of ticklish

OTHER WORDS FROM ticklish

Words nearby ticklish

Words related to ticklish

How to use ticklish in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ticklish

Derived forms of ticklish