as in emotional
showing feeling freely
she is too touchy-feely and he is too stiff-upper-lip for their relationship to ever work out
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Recent Examples of touchy-feely
But empathy is a bit too touchy-feely as a consistent motivation—at least for me.
—
Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 24 June 2025
Some people just aren’t touchy-feely — and that’s their prerogative.
—Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Bringing more manufacturing back to US shores, including the iPhone assembly work that Trump seems so keen on would surely require greater use of robots—especially systems with the touchy-feely skills needed to manipulate small, intricate components.
—Will Knight, Wired News, 7 May 2025
Valerie Bertinelli is standing up for Drew Barrymore and her naturally touchy-feely personality.
—EW.com, 31 Jan. 2025
Drew Barrymore admitted that she has been warned about her notorious touchy-feely interview style.
—Ashley Hume, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024
Collaboration gets pegged as: a waste of time (pulls people away from focused, individual work)
a way to get slow people up to speed at the expense of fast people
fluffy and touchy-feely
The brain science tells a different story.
—Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
So, naturally, when one of Jacob’s students becomes patient zero of a ringworm outbreak at Abbott, the touchy-feely bubble of the early stage of Gregory’s relationship with Janine quickly bursts, becoming their first real speed bump since going public.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2024
At first glance, this is the kind of touchy-feely corporate propaganda that exists to convince employees the company cares about them and assure clients of its human touch.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Aug. 2024
Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 24 June 2025
Some people just aren’t touchy-feely — and that’s their prerogative.
—Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Bringing more manufacturing back to US shores, including the iPhone assembly work that Trump seems so keen on would surely require greater use of robots—especially systems with the touchy-feely skills needed to manipulate small, intricate components.
—Will Knight, Wired News, 7 May 2025
Valerie Bertinelli is standing up for Drew Barrymore and her naturally touchy-feely personality.
—EW.com, 31 Jan. 2025
Drew Barrymore admitted that she has been warned about her notorious touchy-feely interview style.
—Ashley Hume, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024
Collaboration gets pegged as: a waste of time (pulls people away from focused, individual work)
a way to get slow people up to speed at the expense of fast people
fluffy and touchy-feely
The brain science tells a different story.
—Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
So, naturally, when one of Jacob’s students becomes patient zero of a ringworm outbreak at Abbott, the touchy-feely bubble of the early stage of Gregory’s relationship with Janine quickly bursts, becoming their first real speed bump since going public.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2024
At first glance, this is the kind of touchy-feely corporate propaganda that exists to convince employees the company cares about them and assure clients of its human touch.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touchy-feely
Adjective
-
Reducing Teen Obesity Through Stress-Informed Meal Design Faced with a surge in emotional eating and rising obesity rates among teens, one student tackled a deeply personal and widely neglected problem: The link between academic stress and chronic overeating.—
Karlo Tanjuakio,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
-
Set within a military institution, the film continues his exploration of gender and power, aiming to expose and humanize rigid, oppressive systems through personal and emotional storytelling.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
15 July 2025
Adjective
-
But, outside of the kennel, Newton is a different dog: eager, affectionate, and incredibly responsive to praise.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 July 2025
-
Part of the fun of Austen’s novels is her affectionate skewering of that world order.—
Brandon Taylor,
Time,
17 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Touchy-feely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touchy-feely. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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