ticklish

ticklish
ticklishly, adv.ticklishness, n.
/tik"lish/, adj.
1. sensitive to tickling.
2. requiring careful or delicate handling or action; difficult or risky; dicey: a ticklish situation.
3. extremely sensitive; touchy: He is ticklish about being interrupted.
4. unstable or easily upset, as a boat; unsteady.
[1575-85; TICKLE + -ISH1]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Ticklish — Tic klish, a. 1. Sensible to slight touches; easily tickled; as, the sole of the foot is very ticklish; the hardened palm of the hand is not ticklish. Bacon. [1913 Webster] 2. Standing so as to be liable to totter and fall at the slightest touch; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ticklish — index insecure, precarious Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • ticklish — (adj.) easily tickled, 1590s, from TICKLE (Cf. tickle) + ISH (Cf. ish). Literal sense is later than the fig. sense (1580s); an earlier word for this was tickly (1520s). Related: Ticklishly; ticklishness …   Etymology dictionary

  • ticklish — [adj] difficult, tricky awkward, capricious, chancy, changeable, critical, dangerous, delicate, fickle, inconstant, mercurial, nice, precarious, risky, rocky, sensitive, temperamental, thorny, touchy, trying, uncertain, unstable, unsteady,… …   New thesaurus

  • ticklish — ► ADJECTIVE 1) sensitive to being tickled. 2) (of a cough) characterized by persistent irritation in the throat. 3) (of a situation or problem) sensitive or difficult to deal with …   English terms dictionary

  • ticklish — [tik′lish, tik′əl ish] adj. 1. sensitive to tickling 2. very sensitive or easily upset; touchy 3. needing careful handling; precarious; delicate ticklishly adv. ticklishness n …   English World dictionary

  • ticklish — tick|lish [ˈtıklıʃ] adj 1.) someone who is ticklish laughs a lot when you tickle them 2.) [usually before noun] informal a ticklish situation or problem is difficult and must be dealt with carefully, especially because you may upset people ▪… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • ticklish — [[t]tɪ̱kəlɪʃ[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n A ticklish problem, situation, or task is difficult and needs to be dealt with carefully. Policy makers are considering the ticklish question of the future of the European Community. Syn: delicate 2) ADJ …   English dictionary

  • ticklish — adjective Date: 1581 1. a. touchy, oversensitive < ticklish about his baldness > b. easily overturned < a canoe is a ticklish craft > 2. requiring delicate handling < a ticklish subject > 3. sensitive to tickling • ticklishly …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • ticklish — adjective 1 someone who is ticklish is sensitive to tickling 2 informal a ticklish situation or problem must be dealt with very carefully, especially because you may offend or upset people: You ll have the ticklish task of explaining to Rita why… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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