testy
- Adjective:
- Easily irritated or annoyed; quick to lose one's temper: Describes a person who becomes impatient, angry, or cross with little provocation. It implies a touchy, irritable, or peevish disposition.
The adjective "testy" is used to characterize a person's mood or temperament. It is more formal than words like "cranky" or "grumpy" and often suggests a temporary state of irritability, though it can describe a general character trait. It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like "be" or "become").
Attributive use (before a noun):
- The long delay made him a testy and uncooperative passenger.
- She gave a testy reply when asked the same question for the third time.
Predicative use (after a linking verb):
- He becomes testy when he hasn't had enough sleep.
- The manager was unusually testy during the morning meeting.
"Testily" (adverb): In an irritated or impatient manner.
- "I already answered that," she said testily.
"Testiness" (noun): The state or quality of being testy.
- There was a hint of testiness in his voice.
- Irritable: Having a tendency to be easily annoyed or provoked.
- Peevish: Easily irritated, especially by unimportant things; querulous.
- Cantankerous: Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative (often implies a more chronic, stubborn irritability than "testy").
- Tetchy: Easily annoyed or irritated; touchy (very similar in meaning to "testy").
- Irritable
- Touchy
- Peevish
- Cranky
- Grumpy
- Short-tempered
- Easygoing
- Patient
- Good-natured
- Amiable
- Placid
While "testy" itself is not commonly the core of idioms, it describes the state implied in phrases like: - To be in a testy mood: To be feeling irritable. - Be careful asking for favors; the boss is in a testy mood today.
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easily irritated or annoyed
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an incorrigibly fractious young man
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not the least nettlesome of his countrymen
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