feisty

Meaning

1. Tenacious, energetic, spunky.
2. Belligerent; prepared to stand and fight, especially in spite of relatively small stature or some other disadvantage.
3. Easily offended and ready to bicker.

Synonyms

spunky

thin-skinned

touchy

plucky

huffy

irascible

militant

pugnacious

quarrelsome

short-tempered

warring

bad-tempered

antipeace

belligerent

brave

courageous

fussy

Translations

streitsüchtig

lebendig

lebhaft

combattivo

strijdlustig

agressivo

agressif

munter

kampflustig

tenace

übellaunig

tosto

kriegsführend

am Krieg beteiligt

zäh

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfaɪsti/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: -

Inherited from Old English: -

In summary

1896, American, feist (“small, aggressive dog”) + -y; the term feist (now rare) itself originally meant “stink”, and earlier “fart”, from Middle English, from Old English, from Proto-Germanic, presumably from Proto-Indo-European – see feist for details.