TOUCHINESS Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words

touchiness

noun

Definition of touchiness

as in sensitivity

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of touchiness This touchiness can extend to meditation researchers, most of whom are meditators themselves; academic meetings Britton attended would sometimes kick off with a meditation. — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026 Their drama is already stale, and between Nathan’s touchiness and Joe’s mistreatment of women, their fight over who is a better guy, a better seaman, a better worker, a better boyfriend is disengaging at best and aggravating at worst. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 23 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for touchiness

Noun

Hotels increasingly use signature scents to shape their brands, but guests with asthma or chemical sensitivities say those fragrances can trigger headaches and other problems.

— Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Burlington has also taken steps to reduce its weather sensitivity, including strengthening its home products assortments.

— Deena Zaidi, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of sensitivity

Noun

The once-vaunted values of public life are now reduced to the lower standards of private life—venality, vulgarity, rudeness, incontinence, and ignorance.

— Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Tell her about the long, unwelcome chats, the bullying and the rudeness.

— Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 25 June 2026

Definition of rudeness

Noun

Syrian families in Magdeburg are weighing whether to stay, as AfD campaign promises of faster deportations and tighter asylum limits deepen fears of hostility and exclusion.

— Kirsten Grieshaber, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
This online abuse and hostility experienced by trans people in the UK is part of a broader picture of the UK becoming a hostile climate for trans people.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of hostility

Noun

The dynamic between them essentially embodies the traditional animosity between the clubs.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
But as much of Washington scrambles to get its arms around emerging AI risks, elsewhere in the country, opposition to data centers does not necessarily indicate animosity toward AI.

— Justin Papp, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of animosity

Noun

Add the pathetic reality that Illinois is the very definition of unfriendliness for business development and job creation, and the only thing Pritzker and his accomplices can campaign on is the vilification of Trump, facts be damned.

— Paul Miller, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026
Images accompanied by verbal descriptions of their generosity and kindness resulted in higher scores of facial attractiveness than when the same images were accompanied by negative traits like selfishness and unfriendliness.

— Sable Yong, TIME, 28 June 2024

Definition of unfriendliness

Noun

The undeniable message of AdS/CFT is that, at least in this special snow globe, the rules of gravity and the rules of quantum mechanics are secretly describing the same game — despite the storied antagonism between the two theories.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
Kanarek told me that Gray’s antagonism, at the meeting and at other times, positions her as the ultimate instigator of the shooting.

— Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of antagonism

Noun

The other is that Republicans’ antipathy towards vote-by-mail is waning.

— Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026
Alexander Kazakov | Afp | Getty Images That Russia and China are seen as ideologically aligned on many geopolitical issues, with each sharing a traditional antipathy and distrust towards the West, and Washington.

— Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 20 May 2026

Definition of antipathy

Noun

Something common to the plans and schemes of crypto-anarchists is a certain Rube Goldberg fussiness.

— Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
The company falls squarely in the ultra-luxury tier while eschewing much of the fussiness that typifies other players in the space.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of fussiness

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touches (upon)

touchiness

touching

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Style

“Touchiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touchiness. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of touchiness

noun

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