touched

comparative more touched · superlative most touched

1. Emotionally moved (by), made to feel emotion (by).

   I was touched that he should remember my birthday.

   3 more examples

   "They say her Majesty is more touched about these affairs of the Chartists than anything else," said Mr Egerton.

   1845, Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, Book 4, Chapter 1

   “If there is anything good or true in what I write, it isn’t mine. I owe it all to you and Mother and Beth,” said Jo, more touched by her father’s words than by any amount of praise from the world.

   1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Chapter 42: All Alone”, in Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC

   1883, Jules Verne, Mary de Hauteville (translator), The Green Ray, Chapter XXI: A Tempest in a Cavern, “And you came to save me, Mr. Oliver,” answered Miss Campbell, more touched by the courage of the young man than the dangers which could still happen.

   Synonyms: affected, emotional, moved

2. Slightly mentally deficient; touched in the head.

   The girl’s face is dreamy, slow. Touched, the Irish say. Possible that she’s touched.

   2012, Zadie Smith, NW, London: Penguin Books, published 2013, →ISBN, page 7

   2 more examples

   "Don't you see he is a lunatic, prince?" whispered Evgenie Pavlovitch in his ear. "Someone told me just now that he is a bit touched on the subject of lawyers, that he has a mania for making speeches and intends to pass the examinations. I am expecting a splendid burlesque now."

   1913, Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Eva M. Martin, The Idiot, Part III, Chapter IV

   All a bit touched. Mad Fanny and his other sister Mrs Dickinson driving about with scarlet harness.

   1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 8: The Lestrygonians]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC

   Synonyms: retarded, touched in the head

1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of touch