touchy
Americanadjective
adjective
-
easily upset or irritated; oversensitive
-
extremely risky
-
easily ignited
Related Words
See irritable.
Other Word Forms
- touchily adverb
- touchiness noun
Etymology
Origin of touchy
First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of techy 2 (a variant of tetchy ( def. ) ), by association with touch
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.
“One of the biggest things I struggle with is judgment, so opening up or writing about touchy subjects or things that mean something to me was hard,” Lani said.
From Los Angeles Times
One touchy subject he doesn’t evade: the push for racial diversity in orchestras.
After all, this conversation isn’t totally unlike one you might have with a potential roommate, even if familial obligations make it a bit touchier.
From MarketWatch
“They have to get it legally approved and it’s touchy in terms of what they can use,” Sahai said.
From Los Angeles Times
The creation — and Carter’s expansion — of Redwood National Park has long been a touchy subject along California’s rural, economically depressed North Coast, where the once-thriving logging industry cratered over the last half-century.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
