as in emotional
showing feeling freely
she is too touchy-feely and he is too stiff-upper-lip for their relationship to ever work out
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Recent Examples of touchy-feely
Excuse the cynicism, but this is the sort of combination of touchy-feely button-pushing and self-conscious peculiarity that’s meant to seem significant and profound that will bring out your inner rom-com Grinch.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2025
Looser, more touchy-feely styles include gentle parenting and freestyle parenting.
—wendy Wisner, Parents, 19 Aug. 2025
The image of her cutting a snake in half with her shovel doesn’t conjure up a touchy-feely woman.
—Marc Berman
august 15, Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
By contrast, Drebin Jr. is more like a clumsy, aging Saint Bernard: a big, shambling man who wears a dour frown but can turn touchy-feely when the talk turns to romance, owls, or turkey dinners.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Despite that seemingly blasé way the pair first met, the documentary is willing to get a bit more touchy-feely than Lewis herself, making a sterling argument that the duo were really just two pieces of one entity.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 17 July 2025
But empathy is a bit too touchy-feely as a consistent motivation—at least for me.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 24 June 2025
Some people just aren’t touchy-feely — and that’s their prerogative.
—Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Bringing more manufacturing back to US shores, including the iPhone assembly work that Trump seems so keen on would surely require greater use of robots—especially systems with the touchy-feely skills needed to manipulate small, intricate components.
—Will Knight, Wired News, 7 May 2025
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2025
Looser, more touchy-feely styles include gentle parenting and freestyle parenting.
—wendy Wisner, Parents, 19 Aug. 2025
The image of her cutting a snake in half with her shovel doesn’t conjure up a touchy-feely woman.
—Marc Berman
august 15, Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
By contrast, Drebin Jr. is more like a clumsy, aging Saint Bernard: a big, shambling man who wears a dour frown but can turn touchy-feely when the talk turns to romance, owls, or turkey dinners.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Despite that seemingly blasé way the pair first met, the documentary is willing to get a bit more touchy-feely than Lewis herself, making a sterling argument that the duo were really just two pieces of one entity.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 17 July 2025
But empathy is a bit too touchy-feely as a consistent motivation—at least for me.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 24 June 2025
Some people just aren’t touchy-feely — and that’s their prerogative.
—Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Bringing more manufacturing back to US shores, including the iPhone assembly work that Trump seems so keen on would surely require greater use of robots—especially systems with the touchy-feely skills needed to manipulate small, intricate components.
—Will Knight, Wired News, 7 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touchy-feely
Adjective
-
Shouts for it will be met by angry fingers jutted towards the various gaffes played ad nauseam on Sky Sports’ weekly Ref Watch, or the mandatory pause before the emotional unleashing as VAR mulls over whether a goal is a goal or just a hoax.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
-
But del Toro expands the emotional spectrum with forgiveness.—
Gerrad Hall,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The shelter explained that Bowie is a friendly, affectionate dog who thrives with structured exercise and engagement.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The point wasn’t to trash the original but to honor it with affectionate exaggeration.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Touchy-feely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touchy-feely. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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