testy

adjective

tes·​ty ˈte-stē 

testier; testiest

1

: easily annoyed : irritable

2

: marked by impatience or ill humor

testy remarks

testily

ˈte-stə-lē 

adverb

testiness

ˈte-stē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of testy

• irritable
• fiery

Examples of testy in a Sentence

that coworker would be easier to get along with if she weren't so testy all the time

Recent Examples on the Web

Microsoft on Tuesday released fixes for two high-severity zero-days that were disclosed by a researcher who has been locked in a testy beef with the software giant. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026

Evans also mentioned how in a heightened political environment, surroundings could get testy rather quickly. — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026

New York has been testy about the officiating all night, except the Knicks are entering halftime with a 23-6 advantage in free throws. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 11 June 2026

Robinson started this past Saturday, when the team fell 2-1 in a physical, testy battle against Germany in its final send-off match before the Americans’ first group-stage game. — Jim Sciutto, CNN Money, 8 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English testif, from Anglo-French, headstrong, from teste head — more at tester entry 2

First Known Use

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for testy

• arrestee
• contestee

Kids Definition

testy

adjective

tes·​ty ˈtes-tē 

testier; testiest

: easily annoyed : irritable

testily

-tə-lē 

adverb

testiness

-tē-nəs 

noun