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TOUCH
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of putting two things together with no space between them
Example:
at his touch the room filled with lights
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
act; deed; human action; human activity (something that people do or cause to happen)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "touch"):
grazing; shaving; skimming (the act of brushing against while passing)
lap; lick (touching with the tongue)
tag ((sports) the act of touching a player in a game (which changes their status in the game))
stroke; stroking (a light touch with the hands)
tickle; tickling; titillation (the act of tickling)
palpation; tactual exploration (a method of examination in which the examiner feels the size or shape or firmness or location of something (of body parts when the examiner is a health professional))
grope (the act of groping; and instance of groping)
fingering (touching something with the fingers)
handling; manipulation (the action of touching with the hands (or the skillful use of the hands) or by the use of mechanical means)
catch; grab; snap; snatch (the act of catching an object with the hands)
buss; kiss; osculation (the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof))
kiss (a light glancing touch)
dig; jab (the act of touching someone suddenly with your finger or elbow)
hit; hitting; striking (the act of contacting one thing with another)
dab; pat; tap (a light touch or stroke)
contact; physical contact (the act of touching physically)
Derivation:
touch (cause to be in brief contact with)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A distinguishing style
Example:
this room needs a woman's touch
Synonyms:
signature; touch
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
fashion; manner; mode; style; way (how something is done or how it happens)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "touch"):
common touch (the property of appealing to people in general (usually by appearing to have qualities in common with them))
Sense 3
Meaning:
The feel of mechanical action
Example:
this piano has a wonderful touch
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
feel; tactile property (a property perceived by touch)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Deftness in handling matters
Example:
he has a master's touch
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
adeptness; adroitness; deftness; facility; quickness (skillful performance or ability without difficulty)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "touch"):
capstone; copestone; finishing touch (a final touch; a crowning achievement; a culmination)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The faculty by which external objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body (especially the hands)
Example:
only sight and touch enable us to locate objects in the space around us
Synonyms:
cutaneous senses; sense of touch; skin senses; touch; touch modality
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
exteroception (sensitivity to stimuli originating outside of the body)
somatosense (any of the sensory systems that mediate sensations of pressure and tickle and warmth and cold and vibration and limb position and limb movement and pain)
Holonyms ("touch" is a part of...):
somaesthesia; somaesthesis; somataesthesis; somatesthesia; somatic sense; somatic sensory system; somatosensory system; somesthesia; somesthesis (the faculty of bodily perception; sensory systems associated with the body; includes skin senses and proprioception and the internal organs)
Derivation:
touch (perceive via the tactile sense)
Sense 6
Meaning:
The sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin
Example:
the surface had a greasy feeling
Synonyms:
feeling; tactile sensation; tactual sensation; touch; touch sensation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
perception (the process of perceiving)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "touch"):
cutaneous sensation; haptic sensation; skin sensation (a sensation localized on the skin)
creepiness (an uneasy sensation as of insects creeping on your skin)
Derivation:
touch (perceive via the tactile sense)
Sense 7
Meaning:
A suggestion of some quality
Example:
he detected a ghost of a smile on her face
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
proffer; proposition; suggestion (a proposal offered for acceptance or rejection)
Sense 8
Meaning:
The act of soliciting money (as a gift or loan)
Example:
he watched the beggar trying to make a touch
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
solicitation (an entreaty addressed to someone of superior status)
Sense 9
Meaning:
A communicative interaction
Example:
he got in touch with his colleagues
Synonyms:
contact; touch
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
communicating; communication (the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information)
Sense 10
Meaning:
The event of something coming in contact with the body
Example:
the cooling touch of the night air
Synonyms:
touch; touching
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
contact; impinging; striking (the physical coming together of two or more things)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "touch"):
brush; light touch (momentary contact)
stroke (a light touch)
Derivation:
touch (be in direct physical contact with; make contact)
touch (make physical contact with, come in contact with)
touch (cause to be in brief contact with)
touch (perceive via the tactile sense)
touch (to extend as far as)
Sense 11
Meaning:
A slight but appreciable amount
Example:
this dish could use a touch of garlic
Synonyms:
hint; jot; mite; pinch; soupcon; speck; tinge; touch
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "touch"):
snuff (a pinch of smokeless tobacco inhaled at a single time)
Sense 12
Meaning:
A slight attack of illness
Example:
he has a touch of rheumatism
Synonyms:
spot; touch
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("touch" is a kind of...):
attack (a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they touch ... he / she / it touches
Past simple: touched
Past participle: touched
-ing form: touching
Sense 1
Meaning:
Have an effect upon
Example:
Will the new rules affect me?
Synonyms:
affect; bear on; bear upon; impact; touch; touch on
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
slam-dunk (make a forceful move against)
act upon; influence; work (have and exert influence or effect)
bother; discommode; disoblige; incommode; inconvenience; put out; trouble (to cause inconvenience or discomfort to)
subject (cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to)
hit; strike (affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely)
endanger; expose; peril; queer; scupper (put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position)
color; colour; distort; tinge (affect as in thought or feeling)
hydrolise; hydrolize (make a compound react with water and undergo hydrolysis)
process; treat (subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition)
excite; stimulate (act as a stimulant)
redound (have an effect for good or ill)
tell on (produce an effect or strain on somebody)
repercuss (cause repercussions; have an unwanted effect)
strike a blow (affect adversely)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sense 2
Meaning:
Color lightly
Example:
the leaves were tinged red in November
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
color; color in; colorise; colorize; colour; colour in; colourise; colourize (add color to)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
complexion (give a certain color to)
tincture (stain or tinge with a slight amount of a color)
henna (apply henna to one's hair)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Comprehend
Example:
He could not touch the meaning of the poem
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
understand (know and comprehend the nature or meaning of)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 4
Meaning:
Make a more or less disguised reference to
Example:
He alluded to the problem but did not mention it
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
hint; suggest (drop a hint; intimate by a hint)
"Touch" entails doing...:
denote; refer (have as a meaning)
Verb group:
bear on; come to; concern; have to do with; pertain; refer; relate; touch; touch on (be relevant to)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s PP
Sense 5
Meaning:
Consume
Example:
She didn't touch her food all night
Synonyms:
partake; touch
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
consume; have; ingest; take; take in (serve oneself to, or consume regularly)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
receive (partake of the Holy Eucharist sacrament)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sentence example:
They touch more bread
Sense 6
Meaning:
Be in direct physical contact with; make contact
Example:
The surfaces contact at this point
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Verb group:
converge; meet (be adjacent or come together)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
lean against; lean on; rest on (rest on for support)
border; environ; ring; skirt; surround (extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle)
abut; adjoin; border; butt; butt against; butt on; edge; march (lie adjacent to another or share a boundary)
hug (fit closely or tightly)
attach (be attached; be in contact with)
chafe; fray; fret; rub; scratch (cause friction)
adhere; cleave; cling; cohere; stick (come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation)
cover; spread over (form a cover over)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Sentence examples:
Our properties touch at this point
His fields touch mine at this point
Derivation:
touch (the event of something coming in contact with the body)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Make physical contact with, come in contact with
Example:
She never touched her husband
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
tag (touch a player while he is holding the ball)
press (exert pressure or force to or upon)
mouth (touch with the mouth)
kiss (touch lightly or gently)
buss; kiss; osculate; snog (touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.)
strike (deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon)
hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)
skim; skim over (move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of)
brush (touch lightly and briefly)
collide with; hit; impinge on; run into; strike (hit against; come into sudden contact with)
engage (get caught)
touch (cause to be in brief contact with)
toe (touch with the toe)
pick up (take up by hand)
hit; strike (produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments)
finger; thumb (feel or handle with the fingers)
feel (pass one's hands over the sexual organs of)
feel; palpate (examine (a body part) by palpation)
handle; palm (touch, lift, or hold with the hands)
stroke (touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP
Also:
touch down (come or bring (a plane) to a landing)
Derivation:
touch (the event of something coming in contact with the body)
toucher (a person who causes or allows a part of the body to come in contact with someone or something)
touching (the act of putting two things together with no space between them)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Cause to be in brief contact with
Example:
He touched his toes to the horse's flanks
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
touch (make physical contact with, come in contact with)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
touch (the act of putting two things together with no space between them)
touch (the event of something coming in contact with the body)
toucher (a person who causes or allows a part of the body to come in contact with someone or something)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Tamper with
Example:
Don't touch my CDs!
Synonyms:
disturb; touch
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
upset (disturb the balance or stability of)
violate (destroy)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 10
Meaning:
Affect emotionally
Example:
I was touched by your kind letter of sympathy
Synonyms:
stir; touch
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
affect; impress; move; strike (have an emotional or cognitive impact upon)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
get (evoke an emotional response)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sentence examples:
The bad news will touch him
The performance is likely to touch Sue
Sense 11
Meaning:
Perceive via the tactile sense
Example:
Helen Keller felt the physical world by touching people and objects around her
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
comprehend; perceive (to become aware of through the senses)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
touch (the faculty by which external objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body (especially the hands))
touch (the sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin)
touch; touching (the event of something coming in contact with the body)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Deal with; usually used with a form of negation
Example:
The local Mafia won't touch gambling
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
care; deal; handle; manage (be in charge of, act on, or dispose of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 13
Meaning:
Be equal to in quality or ability
Example:
Her persistence and ambition only matches that of her parents
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
compete; contend; vie (compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others)
Verb group:
equal; equalise; equalize; equate; match (make equal, uniform, corresponding, or matching)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sense 14
Meaning:
Be relevant to
Example:
My remark pertained to your earlier comments
Synonyms:
bear on; come to; concern; have to do with; pertain; refer; relate; touch; touch on
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Verb group:
advert; allude; touch (make a more or less disguised reference to)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
center; center on; concentrate on; focus on; revolve about; revolve around (center upon)
apply; go for; hold (be pertinent or relevant or applicable)
affect; involve; regard (connect closely and often incriminatingly)
interest; matter to (be of importance or consequence)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sense 15
Meaning:
To extend as far as
Example:
The chair must not touch the wall
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "touch" is one way to...):
be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "touch"):
reach into (run into or up to)
Sentence frames:
Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s something
Derivation:
touch (the event of something coming in contact with the body)
Context examples:
Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient take liberties or touch or hug others in a way that is out of character for him/her?
(NPI - Take Liberties or Touch or Hug Others, NCI Thesaurus)
A term used to describe cancer that can be felt by touch, usually present in lymph nodes, skin, or other organs of the body such as the liver or colon.
(Palpable, NCI Dictionary)
A sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch that a person believes to be real but is not real.
(Hallucination, NCI Dictionary)
Healing touch is being studied in patients receiving cancer therapy, to find out if it can improve quality of life, boost the immune system, or reduce side effects.
(Healing touch, NCI Dictionary)
You can also get it if you touch a contaminated surface.
(Norovirus Infections, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Indeed, the old Witch never touched water, nor ever let water touch her in any way.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
You will be touched by the kindness of one friend when Mars and Jupiter are in step, November 12.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
I have been quite touched by the change in the poor old man.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
I think that I have touched bottom at last, however.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Nothing seemed to have been touched.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
