as in irritable
easily offended
a morose and tetchy resident of a nursing home
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tetchy
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
England's last competitive result was a 1-0 win in Andorra back in June when Harry Kane scored the only goal in a surprisingly tetchy result for the visiting team.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 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
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
England's last competitive result was a 1-0 win in Andorra back in June when Harry Kane scored the only goal in a surprisingly tetchy result for the visiting team.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 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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From the dramatic adolescent to the unpredictable PMS-ing woman to the irritable menopausal crone, unattractive stereotypes of women ruled by their hormones abound.—
Patricia Bencivenga,
STAT,
26 Mar. 2026
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Caroly is immediately affected, glued to the TV; John, suddenly irritable, retreats.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This wasn’t surprising, given that intelligence agencies compartmentalize information about sensitive operations.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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It is well understood in the region that could mean things like broad targeting of sensitive and highly vulnerable energy installations, something Iran has already threatened, essential for the regional and global economies, as well as hard to quickly repair and rebuild.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2026
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.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
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He is seen as favoring Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, to take over WEF, though her huffy exit this year from a dinner stacked with US government officials may make things awkward.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But a large part of it still existed and had never been digitized and was in fairly touchy condition.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
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Other subjects are touchier, including the sport’s fast-approaching labor war.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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There’s a ticklish elusiveness to the portraits of Blume’s husbands in the book, and to those of her kids, Randy and Larry, as well.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
18 Mar. 2026
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Transporting the patient 12 miles to Hartford Hospital would be ticklish.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tetchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tetchy. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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