itchy
/ˈɪt͡ʃi/
itchy adjective: characterized by itching. (of a condition).
Adjective
itchy (comparative itchier, superlative itchiest)
- Characterized by itching. (of a condition)
- an itchy rash
- Excess, the scrophulous and itchy plague / That seizes first the opulent1785, William Cowper, “Book IV. The Winter Evening.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 167
- Synonyms:
- pruritic
- Feeling an itching sensation; feeling a need to be scratched. (of a person, animal or body part)
- My nose always gets itchy the moment I put on my face mask.
- Q. What do you mean by a natural, but sickly delight?
A. I mean such a delight as Itchie people have to scratch, green-sickness Garles to eat coles and chalk, and those in a burning Fever, to drink cold drink.1659, Lyon Freeman, The Common-wealths Catechism, London: John Clowes, pages 15–16
- Causing an itching sensation.
- He refuses to wear the new sweater; he says it’s itchy.
- the itchy sound, the brisk and scratchy sound, of combing hairs out of a stiff brush1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter I, in Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, page 4
- Synonyms:
- scratchy
- In a state of agitation; easily alarmed.
- Casy said softly, “All of ’em’s itchy. Them cops been sayin’ how they’re gonna beat the hell outa us an’ run us outa the county. […]”1939, John Steinbeck, chapter 26, in The Grapes of Wrath, New York: Viking, published 1958, page 526
- […] I got itchy wondering whether I could go inside Complex without being nabbed.1966, Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Chapter 16, in Worlds of If, Volume 16, No. 1, Issue 98, January, 1966, p. 77
- Having a constant, teasing desire (for something, to do something); impatiently eager.
- Who simply stares and listens / Tongue-tied, while eye nor glistens / Nor brow grows hot and twitchy, / Nor mouth, for a combat itchy, / Quivers with some convincing / Reply1876, Robert Browning, Pacchiarotto, and How He Worked in Distemper, Boston: James R. Osgood, published 1877, page 17
- “So I went over to see Miss Huntress and after a lot of finagling around with this itchy-handed house dick I got to see her and we had a chat […]”1939, Raymond Chandler, chapter 7, in Trouble Is My Business, Philadelphia: Curtis Publishing
- Synonyms:
- itching
- Causing a constant, teasing desire for something.
- They are curious with the itchy curiosity of their explorative time of life, and they have no proper guidance.1923, Samuel Hopkins Adams, chapter 12, in Flaming Youth, New York: Boni and Liveright, page 129
- A bachelor at sixty-eight and an uneasy drinker, Holcomb was seized with an itchy, reminiscent lust whenever he drank too much […]1951, William Styron, chapter 6, in Lie Down in Darkness, Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, pages 309–310
- Feeling or showing a high level of sexual interest.
- Car[dochia]. That slave in obscene language courted me, / Drew reals out, and would have bought my body, / Diego, from thee. / Die[go]. Is he so itchy? I'll cure him.c. 1623 (date written; published 1653), Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, Thomas Dekker, John Ford, “The Spanish Gipsy”, in A[rthur] H[enry] Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton […] (The...
- what’s all the delight, / That seemes so pleasing to the itchie whorer?1640, Nathanael Richards, Messallina, London: Daniel Frere, act I, scene 1
- Synonyms:
- lascivious, lecherous, lustful
itchy meaning in Kannada and Persian
itchy in Kannada
- ತುರಿಕೆಯ, ನವೆಯ, ಕಜ್ಜಿಯ, ತುರಿ ಬಂದ
itchy in Persian
- Translations
- خارشناک xārešnāk
Examples of itchy in a sentence
- Her heart kicked and an itchy burning in her throat made her swallow all her saliva away.1987, Toni Morrison, Beloved, New York: Knopf, Part 3, p. 243:
- I heard the trumpet of its famous mosquito, but did not feel its attacks; still the itchy hillocks on my hands for some days afterwards reported the venom of the insect.1869, John Tyndall, “Odds and Ends of Alpine Life”, in Littel’s Living Age, Series 4, Vol. 13, No. 1303, p. 471:
- […] the hot, dusty air swept in through the open windows and made Adam’s eyes itchy and teary.2009, Tash Aw, chapter 34, in Map of the Invisible World, New York: Spiegel & Grau, published 2010, page 314:
- It was one room crowded with attic furniture, a sofa and fat chairs upholstered in that itchy, particular red velvet that one associates with hot days on a train.1958, Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Penguin, published 1961, page 9:
Synonyms of itchy
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of itchy
| comparative | itchier |
|---|---|
| superlative | itchiest |
Origin of itchy
From Middle English *yicchy, *ȝicchi, from Old English ġiċċiġ (“itchy”), equivalent to itch + -y. Cognate with Scots yeukie (“itchy”), West Frisian jokkerich (“itchy”), Dutch jeukachtig and jeukerig (“itchy”).
Words formed from itchy
Phrases with itchy
Words that rhyme with itchy
Questions about itchy
- What does itchy mean?
- Itchy means characterized by itching. (of a condition).
- What is itchy in Kannada?
- Itchy in Kannada is ತುರಿಕೆಯ, ನವೆಯ, ಕಜ್ಜಿಯ. See Itchy meaning in Kannada.
- How do you use itchy in a sentence?
- Her heart kicked and an itchy burning in her throat made her swallow all her saliva away.
- What part of speech is itchy?
- Itchy is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce itchy?
- Itchy is pronounced /ˈɪt͡ʃi/.
Words near itchy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: itchy (page history and authors); itchy (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-itchy.wav.
Cite this entry: “itchy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/itchy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.