ticklishness
Easily provoked giggles
Ticklishness is sensitivity to being tickled—that involuntary, squirming response to light touch in vulnerable spots like the ribs or soles of the feet.
By extension, ticklishness describes delicacy or sensitivity in situations requiring careful handling: the ticklishness of the negotiations, Given the ticklishness of the subject, she chose her words carefully.
Soft, silly vocalization
- squealShrill, piercing cry
- shriekShrill, piercing cry
- snickerStifled, scornful laugh
- chortleGleeful, breathy laugh
cackle · snort · uncontrollable · convulsive · breathless · hysterical · helpless · tearful
Slight stinging sensation
- itchUrge to scratch
- squirmTwist from discomfort
- wriggleTwisting, snakelike movement
- fidgetRestless small movements
twitch · shiver · quiver · prickle · flutter · skin · nerve · feather
Playful, mild ridicule
- pokingLight repeated jabbing
- proddingPersistent urging forward
- chasingFollowing to catch
- roughhousingRowdy physical play
sibling · wrestling · squirming · wriggling · protest · retaliation · game · childhood
Dangerously insecure
- touchyEasily upset or offended
- trickyDifficult to handle
- sensitiveEasily affected emotionally
- awkwardLacking grace or ease
fraught · diplomatic · careful · tact · nuanced · volatile · unstable · contentious
Excessively reactive to stimuli
- reactiveTending to respond
- susceptibleEasily influenced or harmed
- heightenedIncreased in degree
- acuteIntensely severe or perceptive
extreme · unbearable · intolerant · oversensitive · threshold · variability · diminished · desensitized
giggle
Soft, silly vocalization
chortle · cackle · snort · uncontrollable · convulsive · breathless · hysterical · helpless · tearful · spasmodic
tingle
Slight stinging sensation
fidget · twitch · shiver · quiver · prickle · flutter · skin · nerve · feather · fingertips
teasing
Playful, mild ridicule
roughhousing · sibling · wrestling · squirming · wriggling · protest · retaliation · game · childhood · mischief
precarious
Dangerously insecure
awkward · fraught · diplomatic · careful · tact · nuanced · volatile · unstable · contentious · thorny
hypersensitive
Excessively reactive to stimuli
- reactiveTending to respond
- susceptibleEasily influenced or harmed
- heightenedIncreased in degree
acute · extreme · unbearable · intolerant · oversensitive · threshold · variability · diminished · desensitized
- body lorepalm reading, palmistry, phrenology, physiognomy, face reading
- touchtouch, feel, touching, caress, feeling
- bodily sensationspain, ache, tingling, burning, numbness
ticklishnessnumbness
Loss of sensation
insensitivity · desensitization · anesthesia · unresponsiveness · imperviousness
ticklishnessstraightforwardness
Quality of being direct
simplicity · manageability · ease · easiness · tractability
ticklishnessimperturbability
State of being unflappable
equanimity · unflappability · contentment · resilience · composure