testy

English

Etymology

Middle English testif (“headstrong”), from Old French testu, from teste (“head”) + -u. Compare modern French tête (“head”), têtu (“stubborn”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛsti/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsti

Adjective

testy (comparative testier, superlative testiest)

1. Easily annoyed, irritable.
2. Marked by impatience or ill humor.

   He made testy remarks.

   • 2022 August 24, Kevin Roose, “We Need to Talk About How Good A.I. Is Getting”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Otherwise, we could end up with a repeat of what happened with social media companies after the 2016 election — a collision of Silicon Valley power and Washington ignorance, which resulted in nothing but gridlock and testy hearings.

Synonyms

• touchy
• tetchy

Derived terms

• testily
• testiness

Translations

irritable

• Bulgarian: сприхав (bg) (sprihav), раздразнителен (bg) (razdraznitelen)
• Maori: whanewhane, kiriweti
• Russian: раздражи́тельный (ru) m (razdražítelʹnyj), вспыльчивый (ru) m (vspylʹčivyj)
• Swedish: retlig (sv)

See also

• heady
• teston

Anagrams

• Setty, tyets, yetts