twitchy

adjective

ˈtwi-chē 

twitchier; twitchiest

1

: marked by twitches or jerking movements : tending to twitch

Oliver did not think he would be able to sleep, but he did sleep—a restless, twitchy sleep filled with hideous dreams.

—Eva Ibbotson

Round-shouldered yet angular, he walked in a twitchy manner that recalled a spider, his oily hair swinging about his face.

—J. K. Rowling

2

: nervously on edge or fretful

This revelation was an incredible relief to those of us who get a little twitchy at the thought of making pasta …

—Jane Daniels Lear

There was action every minute, and so much momentum carrying the story forward that until I finished it, I was in a sort of twitchy agony if I got stuck doing anything else.

—Eric Konigsberg

Synonyms

• antsy
• fidgety
• squirmy
• wiggly
• wriggly

Examples of twitchy in a Sentence

examining the twitchy little poodle was a challenge for the vet

Recent Examples on the Web

Bucks that seem alert and nervous — look for twitchy ears and a constantly bobbing head — are more likely to detect you movement and are also more likely to duck arrows. —Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 Nov. 2024

Hoult does a good job of giving you a sweaty, twitchy everyguy torn between wanting to protect himself and his family, and feeling compelled to not simply convict someone out of a sense of self-preservation. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2024

Our feline hero, a skinny grey cat with wide saucer eyes and a twitchy suspicion of any and all other species, barely manages to escape a pack of hungry dogs before being caught up in a cataclysmic flood. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Oct. 2024

After all, facial swelling isn’t as common as, say, a twitchy eyelid. —Katie Camero, SELF, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1