Elizabeth Taylor †1975
Did you know?
One of the first cited uses of tetchy occurs in William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (1596). Etymologists are not certain how the word came about, but some have suggested that it derives from tetch, an obsolete noun meaning "habit." The similarity both in meaning and pronunciation to touchy might lead you to conclude that tetchy is related to that word, but there is no conclusive evidence to suggest such a connection. The adjectives teched and tetched, meaning "mentally unbalanced," are variations of touched, and are probably also unrelated to tetchy.
Examples of tetchy in a Sentence
Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Smart, capable and quick-witted, Toha’s current joy comes from her relationship with Nelly (Khadija Ahmed), the spoiled granddaughter of her employer (Hanan Youssef), a tetchy, elderly diabetic.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
Hallmarks of the best Halloween travel destinations usually entail a moody fall landscape, local legends that involve a tetchy ghost, vampire, or other variety of ominous being, and themed activities like pumpkin patches and cemetery tours.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2025
Reynolds is a tetchy tyrant, who, enabled by his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), has embraced a need to have things just so as a means of warding off vulnerability.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tetchy
Cite this Entry
“Tetchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tetchy. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
Copy Citation
