Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

touchy

/ˈtʌt͡ʃi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.14 in modern English

Syllables: touchy
IPA: /ˈtʌt͡ʃi/

14

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

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

adj

Easily offended, oversensitive.

adj

Inclined to engage in physical touch.

Informal

verb

Example Sentences

"It is an extremely touchy situation, with everybody's patience wearing thin."
"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..."
"He can be very touchy when you talk about his estranged son, so be as tactful as possible."
"I can assure you, Mr Hosier, that other people are much more touchy about my blindness than I am."
"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."
"No need to mention the magical tree of knowledge which the idiot deity placed in front of its play beings thusly saying, "No. No touchy. (guffaw) No. Bad play beings. (snicker) No. You will suffer the ultimate punishment. No! (bwahahahaha). Don't!", wherein a talking snake convinces the female to eat from it and none of them perish. Wholely believable? Huh?"

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.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: touch

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

touchier (comparative) touchiest (superlative)

Derived Forms

touchily touchiness

Phrases

touchy-feely

Frequently Paired Words

touchy-feely

Synonyms

handsy touchy-feely tetchy delicate touch and go scabrous irritable irascible cranky

Antonyms

untouchy

Rhymes With

duchy buchi suchy dutchy slutchy

Questions

How do you pronounce touchy?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtʌt͡ʃi/.
What does touchy mean?: Extremely sensitive or volatile; easily disturbed to the point of becoming unstable; requiring caution or tactfulness.
Where does touchy come from?: A variant of earlier tetchy (“cranky, easily annoyed, difficult to handle”), under influence from some senses of touch (“affect, disturb”) and simulating touch + -y.

How to pronounce touchy

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “touchy”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtʌt͡ʃi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “touchy”.
Repeat and practice — Say “touchy” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.