feisty

feisty

adj \ˈfī-stē\

feist·i·erfeist·i·est

Definition of FEISTY

1

chiefly Southern & Midland a : full of nervous energy : fidgety b : touchy, quarrelsome c : exuberantly frisky

2

: having or showing a lively aggressiveness : spunky <the movie's feisty heroine>

— feist·i·ness noun

Examples of FEISTY

1. The novel features a feisty heroine.
2. Even her opponents admire her feisty spirit.
3. I was —feisty, because people misinterpret what country music is, just like they think Southerners are a bunch of hicks. —Wynonna Judd, quoted in Rolling Stone, 8-22 July 1993
4. Humorist Cynthia Heimel never plays it safe, bless her feisty little heart. She's outrageous and hilarious, daring to say exactly what she and millions of other women really think … —Donna Seaman, Booklist, 15 May 1993
5. … Milwaukee was the last major industrial city to elect a Socialist mayor—Frank P. Zeidler, a feisty octogenarian who teaches today at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee … —Charles P. Pierce, Village Voice, 10 Mar. 1992
6. She never tired of hearing anecdotes from her childhood, and she particularly liked to hear how feisty she had been … —Lorene Cary, Black Ice, 1991

Origin of FEISTY

(see feist)

First Known Use: 1896

Related to FEISTY

Synonyms: aggressive, agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, brawly, chippy, combative, confrontational, contentious, discordant, disputatious, belligerent, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike

Antonyms: nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative, uncontentious

Related Words: antagonistic, fierce, hostile, hot-tempered; acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fractious, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, querulous, rude, snappish, snappy, stroppy [British], surly, testy, touchy, ugly, waspish; savage, vicious; battling, fighting, warring

Near Antonyms: anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike; affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, complaisant, conciliatory, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, kindhearted, obliging, pleasant, sociable; calm, quiet, relaxed, serene, tranquil; benign, gentle, kindly, mild

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