touchy

English

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʌt͡ʃi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌtʃi

Adjective

touchy (comparative touchier, superlative touchiest)

1. (of a situation) 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.

   • 1927, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados Mysteries:

     Eminent Americans are to be invited to direct by will their interment there; and in the case of Americans not so eminent as to be invited, but who have nevertheless expressed a wish to join the others, a committee will decide. It seems a touchy business all along...

2. (of a person) Easily offended, oversensitive.

   He can be very touchy when you talk about his estranged son, so be as tactful as possible.

   • 1923, Ernest Bramah, The Eyes of Max Carrados:

     I can assure you, Mr Hosier, that other people are much more touchy about my blindness than I am.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Bridge, Command Deck, SSV Normandy:

     Ashley: Look at the size of that ship!
     Kaidan: The Ascension. Flagship of the Citadel fleet.
     Joker: Well, size isn't everything.
     Ashley: Why so touchy, Joker?
     Joker: I'm just saying you need firepower, too.

3. (informal) Inclined to engage in physical touch.

   Synonyms: handsy, touchy-feely

   Antonym: untouchy

Synonyms

• (extremely sensitive): tetchy, delicate, touch and go, scabrous
• (easily irritated): tetchy, irritable, irascible, cranky

Derived terms

• touchily
• touchiness

Translations

(situation) sensitive or volatile — see also delicate

• Bulgarian: чувствителен (bg) (čuvstvitelen), раздразнителен (bg) (razdraznitelen)
• Czech: netýkavý, popudlivý m, nevrlý m, podrážděný m
• Finnish: arkaluonteinen (fi)
• French: irascible (fr)
• German: heikel (de), empfindlich (de)
• Māori: whanewhane
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: irritabel, hårsår (no)

• Russian: чувстви́тельный (ru) (čuvstvítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: touchy
• Turkish: hassas (tr), nazik (tr), ince (tr), kırılgan (tr)

(person) easily offended; oversensitive

• Armenian: նեղացկոտ (hy) (neġacʻkot)
• Bulgarian: докачлив (bg) (dokačliv), обидчив (bg) (obidčiv)
• Catalan: susceptible, primmirat (ca)
• Czech: vztahovačný (cs), urážlivý (cs), háklivý
• Finnish: herkkätunteinen, arkatunteinen
• French: susceptible (fr)
• German: gereizt (de), reizbar (de), übelnehmerisch (de), empfindlich (de), (colloquial) zickig (de)
• Ingrian: herkkä, arkaloontoin
• Irish: drisíneach
• Italian: permaloso (it), facilmente irritabile, suscettibile (it), irascibile (it)
• Māori: taringa rahirahi, āritarita
• Persian: زود رنج (zud-ranj)
• Russian: оби́дчивый (ru) (obídčivyj), раздражи́тельный (ru) m (razdražítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: quisquilloso (es), picajoso, picajón, touchy
• Swedish: stingslig (sv), överkänslig (sv)
• Turkish: alıngan (tr), darılgan (tr), kırılgan (tr)
• Unami: amatamàlsi

See also

• touchy-feely

Anagrams

• couthy

Spanish

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtot͡ʃi/ [ˈt̪o.t͡ʃi]
• Rhymes: -otʃi
• Syllabification: tou‧chy

Adjective

touchy (invariable) (US)

1. touchy, delicate

Further reading

• “touchy”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010