itching
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or characterized by an irritating sensation of the skin.
-
of, relating to, or having a longing or desire to do or have something.
An itching public anxiously awaits her announcement.
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characterized by restlessness or the desire for adventure or activity.
an itching impulse to travel.
-
characterized by the desire to grasp; grasping; an itching palm open for a bribe.
noun
Other Word Forms
- itchingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of itching
before 1000; Middle English ( y ) ichinge, ( y ) itchinge (noun, adj.); replacing Old English giccende (adj.). See itch, -ing 2, -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I struggled to remain still, and the itching stirred up an uncomfortable memory also involving straw.
From Literature
At the time she didn’t know what was causing pain in her right leg and the intense itching on her arms, legs and torso — or why her handwriting had “gone funky.”
From Los Angeles Times
Born into a well-off family in central Taiwan on July 2, 1934, Liu worked briefly in his father's trading and food manufacturing company but was soon itching to branch out on his own.
From Barron's
An “intuitive wellness practitioner” who said she was trained in nutrition, botanical medicine and homeopathy, promised to get to the root cause of my itching.
Fortunately, the network already had a talent who was itching for change.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
