as in irritable
easily offended
a morose and tetchy resident of a nursing home
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tetchy
Hallmarks of the best Halloween travel destinations usually entail a moody fall landscape, local legends that involve a tetchy ghost, vampire, or other variety of ominous being, and themed activities like pumpkin patches and cemetery tours.
—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
18 Oct. 2025
Reynolds is a tetchy tyrant, who, enabled by his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), has embraced a need to have things just so as a means of warding off vulnerability.
—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Or the public’s general distaste for being confronted with tetchy societal issues will still prevail; doom-scrolling should be done on one’s phone at home, not out in the world among other people.
—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
The venerable brand has, for well over a century, been a producer of debonair, distinctly British, sport/luxury cars, known mainly for startling good looks and an attitude that is more sophisticated and less tetchy than its Italian rivals.
—
Brett Berk,
Robb Report,
3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tetchy
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
18 Oct. 2025
Reynolds is a tetchy tyrant, who, enabled by his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), has embraced a need to have things just so as a means of warding off vulnerability.
—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Or the public’s general distaste for being confronted with tetchy societal issues will still prevail; doom-scrolling should be done on one’s phone at home, not out in the world among other people.
—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
The venerable brand has, for well over a century, been a producer of debonair, distinctly British, sport/luxury cars, known mainly for startling good looks and an attitude that is more sophisticated and less tetchy than its Italian rivals.
—
Brett Berk,
Robb Report,
3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tetchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tetchy
Adjective
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The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
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Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
Adjective
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Rescuers then wait intently for any indication of life, using sensitive microphones or telescopic cameras or simply pressing an ear against the rubble, hoping to detect a voice, a knock or the faintest movement.
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So far, the administration has sued multiple states unsuccessfully in attempts to obtain sensitive voter-roll data to run through a federal database known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, program.
Adjective
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Eleven hours into this 15-hour shift, most of the attending’s best qualities — his pragmatic approach to medicine, his encouragement of young colleagues, his ability to roll with unexpected challenges — have curdled into huffy dismissiveness and defensive blind spots.
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For example, maybe the subject would act huffy, anticipating that the interactant was going to treat them differently.
Adjective
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Manliness is a touchy subject these days, but there was a time when honorable combat was respected above the mere running of one’s mouth.
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Money is still somewhat of a touchy subject for Jason Bateman.
Adjective
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By combining literacy with something welcoming and familiar like food, Cruz hopes to make the ticklish topic more approachable.
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But all that interest, here, also can generate another ticklish dynamic.
Cite this Entry
“Tetchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tetchy. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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