touch-me-not

American  

[tuhch-mee-not] / ˈtʌtʃ miˌnɒt /

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Impatiens, of the balsam family, especially I. noli-tangere, bearing pods that, when ripe, burst on being touched, scattering the seeds.

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touch-me-not British  

noun

1. Also called: noli-me-tangere. any of several balsaminaceous plants of the genus Impatiens, esp I. noli-me-tangere, having yellow spurred flowers and seed pods that burst open at a touch when ripe

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Etymology

Origin of touch-me-not

First recorded in 1590–1600

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

touch-me-not

With his silky bob and moon-pale skin, his top hat, tailcoat and jaunty, touch-me-not brittleness, he's a nervous giggle in a devious showman's guise.

From Time Magazine Archive

Not since his "last press conference" in 1962 has what George Wallace calls Nixon's "antiseptic, touch-me-not bubble" really been broken.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Treegap, the same moonlight silvered the roof of the touch-me-not cottage, but inside, the lamps were burning.

From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit

Winnie, standing at the fence in front of the touch-me-not cottage, could hear the new note in the voices of the birds.

From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit

It was not as if she were really embarrassed or confused, it came simply from that kind of physical sensitiveness which causes the closing of leaves in those plants we call "touch-me-not."

From Juggernaut by Alice Campbell

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