touching

play

adjective touch·ing \ ˈtə-chiŋ \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of touching

:capable of arousing emotions of tenderness or compassion

—

touchingly

adverb

See touching defined for English-language learners

See touching defined for kids

Examples of touching in a Sentence

there has been an objection touching the last of the proposed new bylaws

Recent Examples of touching from the Web

Another touching tweet from the Houston County Sheriff's Office shows men working together to free a car from floodwater.

— sarah klein, Health.com, "12 Houston Pictures That Have Broken Our Hearts (And Restored Them)," 30 Aug. 2017
The nostalgic video begins and ends with the characters looking through hospital windows, and the story in-between reflects the touching life cycle of many father-daughter relationships.

— kelly o'sullivan, Country Living, "This Viral Windex Ad Is the Most Emotional Thing You'll Watch All Day," 21 Aug. 2017
The touching moment happened July 29, in the top of the seventh inning at Charlotte Sports Park, where the St. Lucie Mets were playing the Charlotte Stone Crabs.

— michelle kaufman, miamiherald, "Tebow greets autistic boy during at-bat, then this happened," 11 Aug. 2017
But despite his transfer to PSG, Neymar has posted a touching message on his Instagram page, alongside a series of videos encapsulating his time at the Nou Camp.

— SI.com, "VIDEO: Neymar Posts Heartfelt Instagram Message to Barcelona Following World Record PSG Move," 3 Aug. 2017
GOAL, FC Cincinnati ('69), 1-0 – Djiby Fall, FC Cincinnati's leading scorer in all competitions, poked home a Justin Hoyte cross to put the club within touching distance of the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.

— charlie hatch, Cincinnati.com, "To the Open Cup semis: FC Cincy beats Miami FC, will host New York Red Bulls," 2 Aug. 2017
People are also advised to avoid directly touching bathroom door handles when exiting a public restroom and avoiding shared food, beverages or smoking materials.

— paul sisson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Huge hepatitis outbreak claims fifth victim in San Diego County," 12 July 2017
Near the end of the 80-minute service, two dozen Sigma Chi fraternity brothers laid white roses on a table next to a picture of Armstrong in a touching ceremony.

— sheldon s. shafer, The Courier-Journal, "Former mayor, judge-executive Armstrong remembered at service," 7 July 2017
And in a particularly touching moment, Joan chose to shave her head at the wedding reception in front of all her guests.

— lindsey lanquist, SELF, "The Sweet Reason This Bride Shaved Her Head on Her Wedding Day," 29 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'touching.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of touching

circa 1586

touching Synonyms

Synonyms

abutting, adjoining, bordering, conterminous, contiguous, flanking, flush, fringing, joining, juxtaposed, neighboring, skirting, adjacent, verging

Antonyms

nonadjacent, noncontiguous

Related Words

approximate, close, closest, immediate, near, nearby, nearest, next-door, nigh; attached, communicating, connected, connecting, interconnecting, joined, linked, united; bounding, circumjacent, embracing, encircling, enclosing (also inclosing), fencing, rimming, surrounding; marginal, peripheral, tangent, tangential; ambient, encompassing

Near Antonyms

apart, detached, disconnected, discrete, free-standing, isolate, isolated, removed, separate, single, unattached, unconnected, unlinked; away, distant, far, faraway, far-off, farthest, remote; discontinuous, noncontinuous; broken up, disjoined, dissevered, dissociated, disunited, divided, divorced, parted, ramified, resolved, severed, split, sundered, uncoupled, unyoked

Synonym Discussion of touching

moving, impressive, poignant, affecting, touching, pathetic mean having the power to produce deep emotion. moving may apply to any strong emotional effect including thrilling, agitating, saddening, or calling forth pity or sympathy.

- a moving appeal for contributions

impressive implies compelling attention, admiration, wonder, or conviction.

- an impressive list of achievements

poignant applies to what keenly or sharply affects one's sensitivities.

- a poignant documentary on the homeless

affecting is close to moving but most often suggests pathos.

- an affecting deathbed reunion

touching implies arousing tenderness or compassion.

- the touching innocence in a child's eyes

pathetic implies moving to pity or sometimes contempt.

- pathetic attempts to justify misconduct

touching

preposition

Definition of touching

:in reference to :concerning

Examples of touching in a Sentence

touching lots in the housing development will eventually be separated by hedges for privacy
a touching movie about two lost animals who try to find their way home