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ticklish

/ˈtɪk(ə)lɪʃ/
/ˈtɪkəliʃ/
IPA guide

Other forms: ticklishly

The word ticklish means both "sensitive to being tickled" and "requiring tact or careful handling." A lot of people avoid ticklish subjects when they meet someone new, instead sticking to safe topics like the weather.

You know you're ticklish if you squirm and giggle when your friend tickles your feet. You're also ticklish if you're easily upset or irritated. For you, ticklish subjects might include politics, conspiracy theories, and which musician should have won a Grammy. That means those topics are particularly difficult, requiring a careful, tactful person to keep you from getting upset about them. This figurative sense predates the literal one, and an earlier version was tickly.

Definitions of ticklish
  1. adjective
    difficult to handle; requiring great tact
    “hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter”
    synonyms: delicate, touchy
    difficult, hard
    not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
Pronunciation
US
/ˈtɪk(ə)lɪʃ/
UK
/ˈtɪkəliʃ/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘ticklish'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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