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Meaning of "ticklish" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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PRONUNCIATION OF TICKLISH

ticklish  [ˈtɪklɪʃ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF TICKLISH

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Ticklish is an adjective.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES TICKLISH MEAN IN ENGLISH?

ticklish

Tickling

Tickling is the act of touching a part of the body so as to cause involuntary twitching movements and/or laughter. The word "tickle" evolved from the Middle English tikelen, perhaps frequentative of ticken, to touch lightly. The idiom tickled pink means to be pleased or delighted. In 1897, psychologists G. Stanley Hall and Arthur Allin described a "tickle" as two different types of phenomena. One type is caused by very light movement across the skin. This type of tickle, called a knismesis, generally does not produce laughter and is sometimes accompanied by an itching sensation. Another type of tickle is the laughter-inducing "heavy" tickle, produced by repeatedly applying pressure to "ticklish" areas, and is known as gargalesis. Such sensations can be pleasurable or exciting, but are sometimes considered highly unpleasant, particularly in the case of relentless heavy tickling. The question as to why a person could not tickle him/herself was raised by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Francis Bacon and Charles Darwin believed that humorous laughter requires a "light" frame of mind.

Definition of ticklish in the English dictionary

The first definition of ticklish in the dictionary is susceptible and sensitive to being tickled. Other definition of ticklish is delicate or difficult. Ticklish is also easily upset or offended.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH TICKLISH


abolish
əˈbɒlɪʃ
accomplish
əˈkɒmplɪʃ
bullish
ˈbʊlɪʃ
churlish
ˈtʃɜːlɪʃ
delish
dɪˈlɪʃ
demolish
dɪˈmɒlɪʃ
devilish
ˈdɛvəlɪʃ
embellish
ɪmˈbɛlɪʃ
English
ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ
establish
ɪˈstæblɪʃ
foolish
ˈfuːlɪʃ
Hamlisch
ˈhæmlɪʃ
hellish
ˈhɛlɪʃ
polish
ˈpɒlɪʃ
publish
ˈpʌblɪʃ
relish
ˈrɛlɪʃ
republish
ˌriːˈpʌblɪʃ
smallish
ˈsmɔːlɪʃ
Spanglish
ˈspæŋɡlɪʃ
stylish
ˈstaɪlɪʃ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE TICKLISH

tickettyboo
tickety-boo
tickey
ticking
ticking off
ticklace
tickle
tickle pink
tickler
tickler coil
tickler file
tickling
ticklishly
ticklishness
tickly
ticktack
ticktack man
ticktack men
ticktock
ticky-tacky

WORDS THAT END LIKE TICKLISH

American English
basic English
Canadian English
Dalglish
French polish
French-polish
Gaulish
ghoulish
Hinglish
Middle English
Modern English
nail polish
Old English
Oxford English
pidgin English
purplish
re-establish
shoe polish
Singlish
the English

Synonyms and antonyms of ticklish in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «TICKLISH»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «ticklish» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of ticklish

Translation of «ticklish» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF TICKLISH

Find out the translation of ticklish to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of ticklish from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «ticklish» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

怕胳肢的
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

peliagudo
570 millions of speakers

English

ticklish
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

हंसोड़
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

حَسَّاسٌ لِلدَغْدَغَة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

щекотливая
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

delicado
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

কঠিন
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

chatouilleux
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Geli
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

kitzelig
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

くすぐったがる
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

간지러운
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Ticklish
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

khó
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

கூசுகிறது
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

चिडखोर
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

gıdıklanır
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

che soffre il solletico
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

łaskotliwy
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

делікатний
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

complicat
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

γαργαλιστικός
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

kielierig
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

kittlig
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

pirrende
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of ticklish

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «TICKLISH»

The term «ticklish» is quite widely used and occupies the 53.396 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
75
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «ticklish» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of ticklish
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «ticklish».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «TICKLISH» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «ticklish» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «ticklish» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about ticklish

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TICKLISH»

Discover the use of ticklish in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to ticklish and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political Ontology
A spectre is haunting Western academia, the spectre of the Cartesian subject.
Slavoj Žižek, 2000
2
Tickle Me Ticklish
It's game of laughs. It's a game of fun. From head to toes, Tickle Me Ticklish is for everyone! Tickle Me Ticklish will bring out the giggles while helping children learn body parts and teaching turn-taking skills.
Georgette Bynum, 2010
3
Big Bird's Ticklish Christmas
When someone tickles Big Bird, his laughter passes on from person to person until it travels around the world.
Sarah Albee, Random House, 1999
4
Hearts Are Not Ticklish
Life in the land of Desmonia, despite the fact that each person possesses the ability to fly, has become completely regimented.
Rich Baron, 2006
5
Orangutans Are Ticklish: Fun Facts from an Animal Photographer
Presents photographs to fascinate young animal lovers, from the kangaroo's inability to walk backward to the aardvark's voracious appetite for termites.
‎2010
6
Taiwan-China: A Most Ticklish Standoff
This book sheds light on the confounding situation with regard to Taiwan, China and the United States. Taiwan is independent but without independence. There is One China but there really are two.
Adam W. Clarke, 2001
7
Tales Too Ticklish to Tell: Bloom Country
The people and beasts residing in Bloom County are busy as ever--Opus dances in an all-female nightclub, a Congressional investigation into space invaders is underway, and workers strike for a larger comic book size, in a collection of zany ...
Berke Breathed, 1988
8
Are Tigers Ticklish?: See God's Character in His Creation
Who knows? God knows! He made them. And He made you too! Look inside to find out what God's animals tell us about who He is!
‎1995
9
The very ticklish tiger
Tiger and her stripy cubs are having so much fun. They play and tickle all day long, and tumble in the sun.
Jack Tickle, 2008
10
Ticklish Tales for Tellers: 99 Jokes and Riddles about ...
99 Jokes and Riddles about Storytellers Iva P. Andriddle Christine P. Kallevig. ISH TELL PUN ANDRIDDlE Illustrated by Twaddle Corn Volume One TICKLISH TALES FOR TELLERS 99 Jokes and Riddles About Storytellers. 99 Jokes and ...
Iva P. Andriddle, Christine P. Kallevig, 1997

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TICKLISH»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term ticklish is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Here's Why You're More Ticklish Than Your Friends
As someone who can't make it through a pedicure without almost reflexively kicking the aesthetician because my feet are so damn ticklish, I was always ... «MTL Blog, Jul 15»
2
How To Stop Being Ticklish
In the video above by the Royal Institution, not only do we learn how to get rid of this trait (well, for the most part), but we also learn why people are ticklish in the ... «Huffington Post Canada, Jul 15»
3
Mahanadu skips ticklish political issues
When Telugu Desam party decided to zero in on Hyderabad for its 34th Mahanadu, lot of political significance was attached to it. The first of them was sending a ... «The Hindu, May 15»
4
Ticklish Topic: How To Talk About Care With Aging Loved Ones
Aging and mortality is the lot of humanity. But for adult children and their parents, discussing how to deal with these inevitabilities is something too many avoid ... «Forbes, May 15»
5
Dr Emily Grossman from the Royal Institute claims she has …
After trying it out with a few (willing) participants in the Metro.co.uk office, we found that only about half of our ticklish staff said the technique stopped them feeling ... «Metro, May 15»
6
Tickle, Tickle: The Science Behind Being Ticklish, And How To …
The Royal Institution's video “How to Stop Yourself from Being Ticklish,” delves into the evolutionary purpose of this phenomenon to teach us why we can't tickle ... «Medical Daily, Apr 15»
7
Miss Manners: Uninviting people tends to be ticklish
Dear Miss Manners: I am looking for an appropriate way to uninvite someone to a corporate event. The guest list has been revised, and I need to uninvite five ... «Buffalo News, Apr 15»
8
Why are we ticklish? Here's what we know about our silliest defense …
Another idea is that we've evolved to be ticklish as a way to protect vulnerable spots from attack. For example, because your stomach is ticklish, you're more ... «Vox, Mar 15»
9
Ticklish Toyota on a drive for laughs
Toyota has spread some of its own Comic Relief spirit with a laughing car that responds to being tickled. The firm created a "ticklish" Yaris with special sensors to ... «Hull Daily Mail, Mar 15»
10
Ticklish Toyota gives Comic Relief
The firm created a 'ticklish' Yaris with special sensors to detect tickling, as well as ... As the ticklish Toyota travelled from London to Birmingham, Manchester and ... «BT.com, Mar 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Ticklish [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/ticklish>. Apr 2024 ».
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