# touchy vs tough

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### touchy
*adjective · IPA /ˈtʌt͡ʃi/ · frequency rank #24,340*
Extremely sensitive or volatile; easily disturbed to the point of becoming unstable; requiring caution or tactfulness.

### tough
*adjective · IPA /tʌf/ · frequency rank #1,777*
Strong and resilient; sturdy.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/touchy-vs-tough