touching

American  

[tuhch-ing] / ˈtʌtʃ ɪŋ /

adjective

1. affecting; moving; pathetic.

   a touching scene of farewell.

   Synonyms:

   piteous, poignant, stirring

2. that touches.

   Synonyms:

   tangent

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preposition

1. in reference or relation to; concerning; about.

   He wrote touching future plans.

touching British  

/ ˈtʌtʃɪŋ /

adjective

1. evoking or eliciting tender feelings

   your sympathy is touching

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preposition

1. on the subject of; relating to

Other Word Forms

• touchingly adverb
• touchingness noun
• untouching adjective

Etymology

Origin of touching

First recorded in 1250–1300; touch + -ing ²

Example Sentences

In two of the images, he is seen touching the person, who is unidentified and fully clothed, on her stomach.

From BBC

Slowly it edged closer, quivering, until its whiskers were touching his knee.

From Literature

Colin leans over and, without even touching the diary, inserts the wire and springs the lock.

From Literature

Oscar and Yurlady form a fragile, touching bond as they discuss work and life and he gets her into the poetry school.

From The Wall Street Journal

Another specialty was touching up photographs of long-ago-missing children, aging them up to the present.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• heartbreaking
• pathetic
• poignant
• sad
• stirring
• stunning
• wistful