trigger-happy

American  

[trig-er-hap-ee] / ˈtrɪg ərˌhæp i /

adjective

Informal.

1. ready to fire a gun at the least provocation, regardless of the situation or probable consequences.

   a trigger-happy hunter.

2. heedless and foolhardy in matters of great importance and recklessly advocating action that can result in war.

   Some called him a trigger-happy candidate.

3. eager to point out the mistakes or shortcomings of others; aggressively or wantonly critical.

   He's a trigger-happy editor with a nervous blue pencil.

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trigger-happy British  

adjective

1. tending to resort to the use of firearms or violence irresponsibly

2. tending to act rashly or without due consideration

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trigger happy Idioms  

1. Inclined to act violently at the slightest provocation, as in They feared that the President was trigger happy and would send in troops at the drop of a hat. This expression alludes to being too eager to fire a gun. [c. 1940]

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Etymology

Origin of trigger-happy

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Many of those stocks soon after clawed back much of their losses, leaving some investors to describe the market as trigger-happy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

Don’t get trigger-happy and sell because of headlines.

From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025

Vance was also, in effect, portraying the American military personnel who sank the boats as trigger-happy, prone to mistake a fishing boat for a drug vessel and feeling guiltless about doing so.

From Slate • Sep. 18, 2025

This trigger-happy litigiousness is lampooned in a satirical “60 Minutes” segment in which CBS-style anchors nervously report on protests against “the president, who is a great man.”

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2025

The man in charge saw Gilgamesh on the alarm screens and got trigger-happy.

From The Lost Kafoozalum by Ashwell, Pauline

Related Words

• antagonistic
• bellicose
• belligerent
• cantankerous
• contentious
• energetic