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
Looser, more touchy-feely styles include gentle parenting and freestyle parenting.
—
wendy Wisner, Parents, 19 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
Valerie Bertinelli is standing up for Drew Barrymore and her naturally touchy-feely personality.
—EW.com, 31 Jan. 2025
Drew Barrymore admitted that she has been warned about her notorious touchy-feely interview style.
—Ashley Hume, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024
wendy Wisner, Parents, 19 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
Valerie Bertinelli is standing up for Drew Barrymore and her naturally touchy-feely personality.
—EW.com, 31 Jan. 2025
Drew Barrymore admitted that she has been warned about her notorious touchy-feely interview style.
—Ashley Hume, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touchy-feely
Adjective
-
The former couple, who share son Sasha and daughter Kai, revealed that Sasha left home for college in emotional tributes shared on Instagram.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
23 Aug. 2025
-
This all comes a few days after another emotional moment from the Queen during a VJD service.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Finn is her brave, affectionate brother who keeps her safe.—
Maryanne Dell,
Oc Register,
16 Aug. 2025
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TikTokers were quick to react and expressed similar affectionate experiences with their poodles.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Touchy-feely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touchy-feely. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.
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