irritable or touchy
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
tes•ty /ˈtɛsti/USA pronunciation
adj., -ti•er, -ti•est.
tes•ti•ness, n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- irritable; impatient;
touchy:a testy reply.
tes•ti•ness, n. [uncountable]
tes•ty
(tes′tē),USA pronunciation adj., -ti•er, -ti•est.
tes′ti•ly, adv.
tes′ti•ness, n.
- irritably impatient;
touchy.
- Middle French. See test2, -ive
- 1325–75; late Middle English testi, alteration of Middle French testu headstrong; replacing Middle English testif
tes′ti•ness, n.
- tetchy, edgy, snappish, cross, irascible. See irritable.
- composed.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'testy' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
captious
- choleric
- cross
- crusty
- disagreeable
- disgruntled
- fractious
- fretful
- hasty
- impatient
- irascible
- irritable
- ornery
- passionate
- peppery
- querulous
- quick-tempered
- short
- short-tempered
- snarky
- sour
- splenetic
- touchy
- waspish