I. ˈtik(ə)lish, -lēsh adjective
Etymology: tickle (III) + -ish
1. : sensitive to tickling
2.
a. : easily disturbed emotionally : touchy , oversensitive
employed to scare the dickens out of anyone who is ticklish about atomic energy — Newsweek
b. : easily overturned or unbalanced : not affording security or support : unsteady , unstable
a canoe is the most ticklish of navigable things — Herman Melville
3. : requiring delicate handling : delicate , nice , critical
hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a subject — Publ's Mod. Lang. Association of American
the takeoff is twice as ticklish as the landing — T.H.Fielding
4. : uncertain , unreliable , changeable
ticklish weather
• tick·lish·ly adverb
• tick·lish·ness noun -es
II. adverb
: ticklishly