thin-skinned

adjective

Overly sensitive to criticism; quick to take offence; irritable; touchy.

“She's rather thin-skinned when it comes to comments about her work.”

Similar
huffyfeistytouchysensitive
Opposite
thick-skinned
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjectivethin-skinned (comparative more thin-skinned, superlative most thin-skinned)

comparative more thin-skinned · superlative most thin-skinned

  1. idiomaticOverly sensitive to criticism; quick to take offence; irritable; touchy.

    She's rather thin-skinned when it comes to comments about her work.

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see thin, skinned.

    You must handle thin-skinned fruits carefully to avoid bruising them.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
thick-skinned

adjectivequick to take offense

Similar
huffyfeistytouchysensitive
Also see
feistyhuffyirritablesensitivetouchy

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Bulgarian тънкокож, чувствителен
  • тънкокож (tănkokož)having a thin skin
  • чувствителен (čuvstvitelen)overly sensitive to criticism
  • обидчив (obidčiv)overly sensitive to criticism
Finnish ohutkuorinen, ohutihoinen
  • ohutkuorinenhaving a thin skin
  • ohutihoinenhaving a thin skin
  • ohutnahkainenhaving a thin skin
  • herkkänahkainenoverly sensitive to criticism
  • herkkätunteinenoverly sensitive to criticism
  • herkkäoverly sensitive to criticism
French à la peau fine, susceptible
  • à la peau finehaving a thin skin
  • susceptibleoverly sensitive to criticism
German dünnhäutig, dünnhäutig
  • dünnhäutighaving a thin skin
  • dünnhäutigoverly sensitive to criticism
Irish lagchraicneach, goilliúnach
  • lagchraicneachhaving a thin skin
  • goilliúnachoverly sensitive to criticism
Italian permaloso
  • permalosooverly sensitive to criticism
Polish wrażliwy
  • wrażliwyoverly sensitive to criticism
Portuguese de casca fina, melindroso
  • de casca finahaving a thin skin
  • melindrosooverly sensitive to criticism
Spanish picajón, picajoso
  • picajónoverly sensitive to criticism
  • picajosooverly sensitive to criticism
Turkish ince kabuklu, ince derili
  • ince kabukluhaving a thin skin
  • ince derilihaving a thin skin
  • alınganoverly sensitive to criticism
  • darılganoverly sensitive to criticism
Welsh croendenau, croendenau
  • croendenauhaving a thin skin
  • croendenauoverly sensitive to criticism
Cite this entry
APA

thin-skinned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin-skinned

MLA

“thin-skinned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin-skinned. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thin-skinned,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin-skinned.

Source: thin-skinned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.