adjective
preposition
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of touching
Explanation
Something that is touching affects you emotionally—it makes you feel sad or tender. A touching video about baby hedgehogs might even make your stoic older sister cry. The adjective touching comes from a particular meaning of the verb touch, "to affect or move mentally or emotionally," from the idea that something has "touched" your mind or heart. Your book report might describe the story you read as touching if it left you wiping away a tear.
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.
We’ve recently been touching on themes connected to personal biography and the observations of Russian diplomats.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
Traditional funeral practices in this region also involve touching the bodies of the dead; when health workers tried to block that from happening, residents only became more suspicious.
From Slate • Jun. 9, 2026
It noted thousands of complaints by customers about "Joy-Con drift", with toggles stuck in one direction on the original version of the Switch, even when users were not touching them.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
It can only be used for positional offside and not for subjective calls, those which require interpretation around whether a player has interfered with an opponent without touching the ball.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
He and Mom sit with their knees touching, their coffee tumblers still clutched in their palms.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
