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

Each remembers Smith fondly, many with both sympathy for and frustration with his innate sensitivity.

— Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
Finally, China will remain a selective market for Canada, both in terms of sourcing and exports, given sensitivities around national security and overcapacity.

— Barrett Bingley, Fortune, 7 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

Those moves come amid higher oil prices, with Brent crude futures hovering around $99 a barrel Tuesday amid escalating hostilities in the Middle East.

— Sarah Min,Hugh Leask, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2026
Goldman's base case Goldman's forecast is based on an increase in hostilities in the Middle East.

— Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of hostility

Noun

Through all of the animosity from the crowd, one that Matthews noted as particularly hostile, the up-and-down nature of the game and the spotlight Chesney brought to his team, the players appeared to be collected and poised.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Damascus’s challenge is to use the dividends from its newfound importance in regional trade to build functioning institutions, distribute resources for recovery, and overcome historical animosities.

— Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 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

By defining other civilizations as alien cultures, a civilizationist grand strategy might fuel antagonism rather than tolerate differences.

— Leonard A. Schuette, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
Still, the economic particulars underpinning this needless antagonism essentially are beside the point.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 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

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touches (upon)

touchiness

touching

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“Touchiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touchiness. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of touchiness

noun

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