TOUCHY

delicate, ticklish, touchy

(adjective) difficult to handle; requiring great tact; “delicate negotiations with the big powers”; “hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter”; “a touchy subject”

huffy, thin-skinned, feisty, touchy

(adjective) quick to take offense

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

touchy (comparative touchier, superlative touchiest)

(of a situation) Extremely sensitive or volatile; easily disturbed to the point of becoming unstable; requiring caution or tactfulness.

(of a person) Easily offended; oversensitive; ticklish.

Anagrams

• couthy

Source: Wiktionary


Touch"y, a. Etym: [For techy, tetchy.]

Definition: Peevish; irritable; irascible; techy; apt to take fire. [Colloq.] It may be said of Dryden that he was at no time touchy about personal attacks. Saintsbury.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 January 2025

AGITATION

(noun) a state of agitation or turbulent change or development; “the political ferment produced new leadership”; “social unrest”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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