different between sullen vs touchy

English

Etymology

From Middle English solein, from Anglo-Norman soleyn (“alone”), from Old French sole (“single, sole, alone”), from Latin s?lus (“by oneself alone”). The change in meaning from "single" to morose occurred in Middle English.

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?l??n, IPA^(key): /?s?l?n/
• Rhymes: -?l?n
• Hyphenation: sul?len

Adjective

sullen (comparative sullener, superlative sullenest)

1. Having a brooding ill temper; sulky.
   • 1709, Matthew Prior, Pleasure

     And sullen I forsook the imperfect feast.

   • 2007, Steven Wilson, "Normal", Porcupine Tree, Nil Recurring.

2. Gloomy; dismal; foreboding.

   a sullen atmosphere

   • 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, IV. v. 88:

     Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change;
3. Sluggish; slow.
4. (obsolete) Lonely; solitary; desolate.
5. (obsolete) Mischievous; malignant; unpropitious.
6. (obsolete) Obstinate; intractable.
   • a. 1694, John Tillotson, Imprudence of Atheism

     Things are as sullen as we are.

Synonyms

(in a bad mood):

• sulky, morose

Antonyms

• cheerful
• content
• lighthearted
• pleased

Translations

Noun

sullen (plural sullens)

1. (obsolete) One who is solitary, or lives alone; a hermit.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Piers Plowman to this entry?)

2. (chiefly in the plural) Sullen feelings or manners; sulks; moroseness.
   • 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King Richard the Second, II. i. 139:

     And let them die that age and sullens have;

   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, I.7:

     [M]y brother […] charged my desire of being excused coming down to sullens, because a certain person had been spoken against, upon whom, as he supposed, my fancy ran.

Anagrams

• unsell

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch sulan

Verb

sullen

1. (auxiliary) must, to have to
2. (auxiliary, negated) may, be allowed to
3. (auxiliary) will, shall, be going to (future tense)
4. (auxiliary, in the past tense) to be about to (inchoative)
5. (modal auxiliary) indicates a possible or hypothetical situation
6. (modal auxiliary) indicates information garnered from a third party that may or may not be reliable

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms

• suelen
• s?len
• sellen
• s?len
• sollen

Descendants

• Dutch: zullen
  • Afrikaans: sal
• Limburgish: zölle, zólle

Further reading

• “sullen”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “sullen”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

Verb

s?llen

1. first-person singular past indicative of suollit

English

Etymology

From a later variant of tachy, techy, teachie, tetchy, simulating touch +? -y. More at tetchy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?t?i/

• Rhymes: -?t?i

Adjective

touchy (comparative touchier, superlative touchiest)

1. (of a situation) Extremely sensitive or volatile; easily disturbed to the point of becoming unstable; requiring caution or tactfulness.

   It is an extremely touchy situation, with everybody's patience wearing thin.

2. (of a person) Easily offended; oversensitive; ticklish.

   He can be very touchy when you talk about his cat, so be as tactful as possible.

Related terms

• touchy-feely

Translations

See also

• tetchy
• touch and go

Anagrams

• couthy