1
: having a thin skin or rind
thin-skinned oranges
2
: unduly susceptible to criticism or insult : touchy

Examples of thin-skinned in a Sentence

she only laughed at the teasing, but a more thin-skinned person would have gotten angry
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Whether someone has religious convictions or not, that is a show of strength rarely seen in the thin-skinned, perpetually hostile political climate of the last many years. The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 23 Sep. 2025 And as is true in all fights against cowardly, bullying, thin-skinned autocrats, our weakness was provocative. Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025 How petty and pathetic and thin-skinned could this administration get? Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 22 Aug. 2025 Delicate produce including berries, tomatoes—anything that's thin-skinned—should be washed under running lukewarm water. Amy Brightfield, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Aug. 2025 There's Colbert’s unrelenting criticism of a thin-skinned president while CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, seeks to finalize an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media, which requires regulatory approval from the federal government. Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 22 July 2025 Chef Odysseas Papoulias uses mild, thin-skinned Florina peppers, but red bell pepper will work as well. Odysseas Papoulias, Saveur, 10 July 2025 Idris makes his rookie character bristly yet endearing, with the thin-skinned transparency of a generation raised to measure its worth in likes. Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025 In its ranking of the produce that pesticides stick to the most, better known as the Dirty Dozen, there are a lot of thin-skinned fruits like strawberries, blackberries, grapes and apples. Chloe Sorvino, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of thin-skinned was in 1598

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thin-skinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thin-skinned. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

thin-skinned

adjective
ˈthin-ˈskind
1
: having a thin skin
thin-skinned oranges
2
: easily bothered by criticism or insult

More from Merriam-Webster on thin-skinned

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