Touchy
/ˈtʌt͡ʃi/ adj, slang
adj, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Extremely sensitive or volatile; easily disturbed to the point of becoming unstable; requiring caution or tactfulness.
"It is an extremely touchy situation, with everybody's patience wearing thin."
- 2 Easily offended, oversensitive.
"He can be very touchy when you talk about his cat, so be as tactful as possible."
- 3 Inclined to engage in physical touch. informal
Adjective
- 1 difficult to handle; requiring great tact wordnet
- 2 quick to take offense wordnet
Example
More examples"She's really touchy about her new braces."
Etymology
A variant of earlier tetchy (“cranky, easily annoyed, difficult to handle”), under influence from some senses of touch (“affect, disturb”) and simulating touch + -y.