ticklish
adjective
tick·lish
ˈti-k(ə-)lish 
1
: sensitive to tickling
2
: requiring delicate handling
a ticklish subject
3
a
: touchy, oversensitive
ticklish about his baldness
b
: easily overturned
a canoe is a ticklish craft
ticklishly
adverb
ticklishness
noun
Examples of ticklish in a Sentence
My feet are very ticklish.
he's ticklish about his looks, so it's wisest to avoid the subject altogether
Recent Examples on the Web
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
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
While plenty of jokers and pranksters offered responses, most users responded by unexpectedly trauma-dumping on the ticklish Muppet.
—David Matthews, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2024
For the time being, then, a free-world strategy can’t liberate the United States from ongoing engagement, and perhaps ticklish compromises, with key autocracies that have a foot in both camps.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 24 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for ticklish
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Erico Guizzo, IEEE Spectrum, 14 Oct. 2016
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
While plenty of jokers and pranksters offered responses, most users responded by unexpectedly trauma-dumping on the ticklish Muppet.
—David Matthews, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2024
For the time being, then, a free-world strategy can’t liberate the United States from ongoing engagement, and perhaps ticklish compromises, with key autocracies that have a foot in both camps.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 24 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for ticklish
Cite this Entry
“Ticklish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ticklish. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ticklish
adjective
tick·lish
ˈtik-(ə-)lish
1
: sensitive to tickling
2
: touchy sense 1
ticklish about his baldness
3
: requiring delicate handling
a ticklish subject
ticklishly
adverb
ticklishness
noun
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