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touchiness

touchiness

1 7.2
A tendency to be easily upset by small remarks or criticism
  • noun
  • /ˈtʌtʃi.nəs/
translation icon : sensibilidad
  • Her touchiness about criticism often leads to misunderstandings with her friends.

Examples

  • The team's touchiness during meetings caused tension and poor communication among members.

  • That ridiculous pride and that terrible touchiness...

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Really, people, the touchiness and defensiveness.

    Blog text (12)
  • So edginess and touchiness are compatible with openness too.

    Blog text (9)
  • The "execrable" hand served as an illustration for this piece, and that Proctor note served as another instance of the astronomer's touchiness.

    Academic text (1999)
  • It was all touchy-feely, all emotions, just differing flavors of touchiness and feeliness.

    Blog text (29)
  • It sometimes seemed to him that half the trouble in the world was caused by carelessness about royal invitations, the other half by the touchiness of wicked fairies.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • She wanted elegance, I suppose, though she had contempt for her desire; touchiness twisted the drive—and this is where you and her mother come in.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • His touchiness makes it difficult for people to give him constructive feedback.

Synonyms

testiness
vstouchiness
1 7.3

A feeling of being easily annoyed and quick to lose patience

is inclined to feel offended by slight provocation or criticism
oversensitivity
vstouchiness
1 5.8

A tendency to react too strongly to criticism or small problems

is about being upset by slight provocation rather than broadly overreacting
snappishness
vstouchiness
1 8.5

A habit of giving short, angry answers when annoyed

is more about reacting with hurt to small provocation than sharp speech
fussiness
vstouchiness
1 5.7

A state of being easily upset or hard to please

is more about taking remarks personally rather than being hard to please
tetchiness
vstouchiness
  • UK
9.2

A tendency to become easily annoyed and show anger

is more about taking small criticisms personally rather than general irritation
oversensitiveness
vstouchiness
8.9

A tendency to feel hurt or upset very easily by words and events

focuses on feeling hurt by minor criticism rather than general strong reactions
pettishness
vstouchiness
9.0

Being easily annoyed and angry about small things in a childish way

is about feeling offended by slight criticism rather than childish sulking
sensitiveness
vstouchiness
  • Specialized
5.5

Being easily affected by feelings and aware of others' emotions

is about taking slight criticism personally rather than emotional empathy

Antonyms

160 3.7

Willingness to accept beliefs or lifestyles different from your own

5 7.8

A calm way of accepting pain or hardship without complaint

How Touchy

irritability
8 4.2
touchiness
1 7.2
petulance
5 9.0
sensitivity
100 3.9
calmness
9 2.7
tolerance
160 3.7

Surface Forms

touchiness singular
touchinesses plural

Morphology

touchiness = touchy (transparent) = touch + y + ness

Formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ness' to the adjective 'touchy', yielding 'the state of being touchy'.

Etymology

Touchiness comes from the simple word touch ('to feel' or 'make contact') plus the ending -ness that makes it a quality. Think of someone's feelings being easily 'touched' by small remarks, so touchiness means being quickly upset, annoyed, or offended.