tetchily
- adverb
- /ˈtɛtʃɪli/
- UK
- I'm afraid I responded more tetchily in general than Byatt does to other aspects of the Bowen world, though these unnerve me now a good deal less than they once did.
Examples
-
Hermas tetchily stops him.
Fiction book (1993) -
She replied tetchily when I asked her about the schedule change.
-
He tends to act tetchily when he hasn't had enough sleep.
-
The teacher spoke tetchily after the students interrupted her lesson.
Synonyms
In an annoyed or impatient way
In a childish, annoyed way that shows impatience
In a short angry way that shows you are annoyed
In an annoyed, grumpy way
In a bad mood and speaking or acting in an unhappy way
By being quiet and not joining others to show someone is annoyed
To act in an annoyed or offended way
In a way that gets upset or angry very easily
In an angry, sharp way that shows someone is annoyed
In an angry way that shows someone gets annoyed easily
In a short, sharp way that shows annoyance
In an annoyed way that shows irritation or anger
In a bad-tempered, easily annoyed way
In a bad mood and complaining
In a bad mood and easily annoyed
In a grumpy way that argues with others or refuses to cooperate
In a rude, unfriendly way
In an angry and unpleasant way that shows annoyance
Antonyms
How Irritable
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Tetchily comes from tetchy, a word meaning 'easily annoyed' and is like the common word touchy. Think of someone who reacts if you 'touch' them even a little, so to act tetchily is to be easily annoyed and quick to react.