touch-me-not
noun
: either of two North American impatiens growing in moist areas: such as
a
: one (Impatiens capensis) typically having orange flowers spotted with reddish brown
b
: one (I. pallida) having typically yellow flowers sometimes spotted with reddish brown
Examples of touch-me-not in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Mimosa pudica is a very sensitive touch-me-not plant known for its aversion to being touched.
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Clarence Schmidt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 July 2025
The leaves and petals of the touch-me-not have been traditionally used by Korean girls and women to dye their fingernails in the summer, and there’s even a superstition that if there’s still some dye left on your fingernails by the time the first snow falls, then your first love will come true.
—Regina Kim, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024
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Clarence Schmidt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 July 2025
The leaves and petals of the touch-me-not have been traditionally used by Korean girls and women to dye their fingernails in the summer, and there’s even a superstition that if there’s still some dye left on your fingernails by the time the first snow falls, then your first love will come true.
—Regina Kim, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Touch-me-not.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touch-me-not. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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