Synonyms

tweaking

American

[twee-king] / ˈtwi kɪŋ /

noun

the act of pinching and pulling something with a jerk and twist.

A slight tweaking of his lips and a furrowing of his brow expressed his disapproval.
the act of making minor adjustments to something.

A mere tweaking of some bit of technology is not going to fix this massive problem.
the act of annoying, teasing, or making fun of someone.

The movie seems like it might be an affectionate tweaking of the nerd generation.
Slang. the act of using methamphetamine, cocaine, or other stimulant drugs, or of behaving wildly or erratically under their influence (usually followed byout ).

Why do people take stuff they’re "not sure of" and then complain about tweaking out—or worse, ending up in the hospital?
Slang. the act of behaving or causing someone to behave in a wildly excited or agitated manner (usually followed byout ); freaking out.

What with his tweaking out over every little mistake, the boss hasn’t been anyone's hero of late.

adjective

making minor adjustments to something.

I’m so happy with the sound—a huge antidote for me coming from the ever tweaking, never satisfied audiophile world.
Slang. behaving in a wildly excited or agitated manner, especially as an effect of using methamphetamine, cocaine, or other stimulant drugs.

He was pacing around and bursting in and out of emotional fits like a tweaking junkie.
Slang. (used as an intensifier).

What kind of a tweaking idiot would do that?

adverb

Slang. (used as an intensifier).

These fudge brownies are tweaking amazing.

Etymology

Origin of tweaking

First recorded in 1610–20; tweak + -ing ¹ for the noun senses; tweak + -ing ² for the adjective and adverb senses

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.

While some projects might need tweaking before going live, he doesn’t use the term “pilot” for that phase.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal reported External link last week the administration is considering tweaking its aluminum and steel tariffs.

From Barron's

The Wall Street Journal reporte External link d last week the administration is considering tweaking its aluminum and steel tariffs to reduce the impact on consumer goods.

From Barron's

Since the defeat in Lisbon in January, Arbeloa has made some changes, including tweaking Real's formation.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023