TOUCHINESS Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words

touchiness

noun

Definition of touchiness

as in sensitivity

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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.

Recent Examples of touchiness This touchiness can extend to meditation researchers, most of whom are meditators themselves; academic meetings Britton attended would sometimes kick off with a meditation. — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026 Their drama is already stale, and between Nathan’s touchiness and Joe’s mistreatment of women, their fight over who is a better guy, a better seaman, a better worker, a better boyfriend is disengaging at best and aggravating at worst. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 23 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for touchiness

Noun

Goldman Sachs has little direct sensitivity to higher interest rates.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026
Children have a higher sensitivity to not just mold spores but also indoor dampness.

— Rebecca Smullin Dawson, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of sensitivity

Noun

The once-vaunted values of public life are now reduced to the lower standards of private life—venality, vulgarity, rudeness, incontinence, and ignorance.

— Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Tell her about the long, unwelcome chats, the bullying and the rudeness.

— Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 25 June 2026

Definition of rudeness

Noun

The two sides reached an interim agreement in June and committed to trying to reach a final deal within 60 days, but the deadline passed after hostilities resumed.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
Rohingya have faced growing public hostility in Malaysia due to their growing numbers, fueled by concerns over jobs, public services and security.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of hostility

Noun

But as much of Washington scrambles to get its arms around emerging AI risks, elsewhere in the country, opposition to data centers does not necessarily indicate animosity toward AI.

— Justin Papp, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026
But that doesn’t mean the animosity toward their former head coach in Oxford has to simmer down before kickoff.

— Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of animosity

Noun

Add the pathetic reality that Illinois is the very definition of unfriendliness for business development and job creation, and the only thing Pritzker and his accomplices can campaign on is the vilification of Trump, facts be damned.

— Paul Miller, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026
Images accompanied by verbal descriptions of their generosity and kindness resulted in higher scores of facial attractiveness than when the same images were accompanied by negative traits like selfishness and unfriendliness.

— Sable Yong, TIME, 28 June 2024

Definition of unfriendliness

Noun

The undeniable message of AdS/CFT is that, at least in this special snow globe, the rules of gravity and the rules of quantum mechanics are secretly describing the same game — despite the storied antagonism between the two theories.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
Kanarek told me that Gray’s antagonism, at the meeting and at other times, positions her as the ultimate instigator of the shooting.

— Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of antagonism

Noun

The other is that Republicans’ antipathy towards vote-by-mail is waning.

— Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026
Alexander Kazakov | Afp | Getty Images That Russia and China are seen as ideologically aligned on many geopolitical issues, with each sharing a traditional antipathy and distrust towards the West, and Washington.

— Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 20 May 2026

Definition of antipathy

Noun

Something common to the plans and schemes of crypto-anarchists is a certain Rube Goldberg fussiness.

— Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
The company falls squarely in the ultra-luxury tier while eschewing much of the fussiness that typifies other players in the space.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of fussiness

Browse Nearby Words

touches (upon)

touchiness

touching

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Style

“Touchiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touchiness. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of touchiness

noun

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