as in irritable
easily offended
a morose and tetchy resident of a nursing home
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tetchy
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
Or the public’s general distaste for being confronted with tetchy societal issues will still prevail; doom-scrolling should be done on one’s phone at home, not out in the world among other people.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
The venerable brand has, for well over a century, been a producer of debonair, distinctly British, sport/luxury cars, known mainly for startling good looks and an attitude that is more sophisticated and less tetchy than its Italian rivals.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tetchy
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
Or the public’s general distaste for being confronted with tetchy societal issues will still prevail; doom-scrolling should be done on one’s phone at home, not out in the world among other people.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
The venerable brand has, for well over a century, been a producer of debonair, distinctly British, sport/luxury cars, known mainly for startling good looks and an attitude that is more sophisticated and less tetchy than its Italian rivals.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tetchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tetchy
Adjective
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Even Adam’s irritable female boss, Suzie (Sasheer Zamata), hides under a people-pleasing mask.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
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That’s because the Moon is at odds with Mars today and everyone is irritable.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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In a chat with Mica, George apologized for not being sensitive to her feelings following the recoupling.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
7 June 2026
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These burn areas create barriers around villages, headwaters and sensitive sites, protecting them from wildfires during peak drought.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Adjective
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Eleven hours into this 15-hour shift, most of the attending’s best qualities — his pragmatic approach to medicine, his encouragement of young colleagues, his ability to roll with unexpected challenges — have curdled into huffy dismissiveness and defensive blind spots.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
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For example, maybe the subject would act huffy, anticipating that the interactant was going to treat them differently.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
People are touchy during the Full Moon.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
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Although unconfirmed, sources also believe Biel may still be upset by photos published by The Sun in 2019 of Timberlake being touchy with his Palmer co-star Alisha Wainwright in New Orleans.—
Allison DeGrushe,
StyleCaster,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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By combining literacy with something welcoming and familiar like food, Cruz hopes to make the ticklish topic more approachable.—
Catharine Kaufman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
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But all that interest, here, also can generate another ticklish dynamic.—
Brian Hamilton,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tetchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tetchy. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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