What does the word testy mean?

    Part of speech: adverb

  • Testily.

  • Part of speech: noun

  • Testiness.

  • Part of speech: adjective

  • Irritable; quick tempered.

Usage examples for testy

  1. In the course of his harangue he happened to mention the word epaulement, upon which the testy gentleman asked the meaning, of that term. – The Adventures of Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett
  2. The piece opens with a quarrel between the testy old bourgeois, Pandolphe, and his daughter, Isabelle, who, being in love with a handsome young suitor, obstinately refuses to obey her father's commands and marry a certain Captain Matamore, with whom he is perfectly infatuated. – Captain Fracasse by Theophile Gautier
  3. That heap of age which I should reverence If it were temperate: but testy years Are most contemptible. – The Maids Tragedy by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher