hissy

English

Etymology

From hiss +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɪsi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪsi

Adjective

hissy (comparative hissier, superlative hissiest)

1. Accompanied with hisses.
2. Making a hissing sound.
   • 2003 May 8, David Pogue, “STATE OF THE ART; For Two-Way Radios, a Mileage Test”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Each is very inexpensive ($60 per two-pack for the Midland, $100 a pair for the Audiovox), and feels it. Each is also tiny, no bigger than a bar of Ivory. Both are far hissier than their more expensive rivals, and don't have as much range (more on this in a moment).

3. Childish or petulant.
   • 1996 May 13, David E. Thigpen, “If You Could Hear Her Now”, in Time:

     Viewers were aghast. . . . As co-host Regis Philbin flinched, Gifford launched into a teary, it's-not-my-fault, TV hissy fit: "You can say I'm ugly, you can say I'm not talented, but when you say I don't care about children, how dare you!"

   • 2016 March 30, Ligaya Mishan, “Jesse Tyler Ferguson Skewers Food Culture on Broadway”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     Midwestern-bred and still wholesome despite his exposure to New York’s hissiest, Sam remains the play’s anchor.

Synonyms

• (making a hissing sound): hissing, sibilant; see also Thesaurus:sibilant
• (childish): infantile, milky; see also Thesaurus:childish
• (petulant): bad-tempered, huffy, irritable; see also Thesaurus:irritable

Derived terms

• hissily
• hissiness
• hissy fit
• tissy

Noun

hissy (plural hissies)

1. (US) A tantrum, a fit.

   get into a hissy

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:tantrum