touchy-feely

American  

[tuhch-ee-fee-lee] / ˈtʌtʃ iˈfi li /

adjective

1. Informal. emphasizing or marked by emotional openness and enthusiastic physicality.

   a touchy-feely encounter group.

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touchy-feely British  

/ ˈtʌtʃɪˈfiːlɪ /

adjective

1. informal openly displaying one's emotions and affections

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Other Word Forms

• touchy-feeliness
  noun

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

touchy-feely

To create a profitable drug, you need the treatment to be as simple and scalable as possible—none of this touchy-feely stuff.

From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026

Aside from its touchy-feely tone, “Whispers” is a fascinating romp around the world to more than 50 exotic and ordinary places featuring stone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

He said that his client had sometimes behaved badly, calling him "touchy-feely".

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2024

I returned to the idea that some critics inside and outside the department see Luna’s touchy-feely talk as soft and not what L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2022

Ask a simple question, get a load of touchy-feely psychobabble in return.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman