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
When Southampton’s Duje Caleta-Car was dismissed in January 2023 in the first leg of a tetchy Carabao Cup semi-final, Murphy waved him on his way.
—
George Caulkin, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
Boos rang around an increasingly tetchy Goodison at the end of Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Brentford, a game in which Everton had a player advantage for 56 minutes including additional time but could not muster enough quality to win.
—Patrick Boyland, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
Sunak dropped his attempts at contrition and became tetchy and confrontational instead.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 29 June 2024
Janet has a boyfriend on the premises, too: a terse, tetchy older fellow named Wayne (Will Patton), who mostly keeps to himself.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 14 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for tetchy
George Caulkin, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
Boos rang around an increasingly tetchy Goodison at the end of Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Brentford, a game in which Everton had a player advantage for 56 minutes including additional time but could not muster enough quality to win.
—Patrick Boyland, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
Sunak dropped his attempts at contrition and became tetchy and confrontational instead.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 29 June 2024
Janet has a boyfriend on the premises, too: a terse, tetchy older fellow named Wayne (Will Patton), who mostly keeps to himself.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 14 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for tetchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tetchy
Adjective
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And even in what was a stilted match played in an increasingly irritable atmosphere, Rogers and Tielemans delivered with an assist each.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
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This stretch can worsen pain in people with back pain, very tight hamstrings, or irritable nerves.—
Aubrey Bailey, PT, DPT, CHT,
Verywell Health,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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For those with sensitive skin, this formula is fragrance-, paraben-, and dye-free.—
Macaela MacKenzie,
Glamour,
24 Apr. 2025
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Historically, he's been sensitive to them, but his focus seems more on pushing his agenda than chasing approval numbers.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Inevitably all this tumult attracts the attention of a trio of huffy rival confectioners, Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton).—
Peter Rainer,
The Christian Science Monitor,
15 Dec. 2023
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Its engagingly huffy maestro, Michel Troisgros, is preparing to hand over the reins to César, his eldest son and head chef.—
Peter Rainer,
The Christian Science Monitor,
30 Nov. 2023
Adjective
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Black audiences have so few representative characters on screen, and Black womanhood alone is so touchy.—
Shania Russell,
EW.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Manual focus is responsive, too, if a little bit touchy.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Rubbing underarm is selected as a target motion of robot because previous research suggests that this is the best way for making humans feel ticklish.—
Erico Guizzo,
IEEE Spectrum,
14 Oct. 2016
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It’s certainly made for these (end) times: a lushly surreal, cynically ticklish goof on the ineffectiveness of political summits as apocalyptic dread mounts.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Tetchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tetchy. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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