Meaning & use
thin-skinned personality
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Meaning
nouncountableinformal
A personality type that is very sensitive to criticism or negative comments.
Grammar: Usually used with 'a' or in the plural: a thin-skinned personality, thin-skinned personalities.
Patterns
- have a thin-skinned personality
- a thin-skinned personality
His thin-skinned personality makes it hard for him to accept feedback.
People with a thin-skinned personality often take things personally.
She has a thin-skinned personality, so be careful how you phrase your comments.
Word forms
| plural | thin-skinned personalities |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a thin-skinned personality
- He has a thin-skinned personality and gets upset easily.
- a thin-skinned personality
- A thin-skinned personality can make teamwork difficult.
- thin-skinned about something
- She's very thin-skinned about her writing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sensitive
- Sensitive is more neutral and can also mean understanding others' feelings; thin-skinned is slightly negative and means easily hurt.
- touchy
- Touchy means easily offended, especially about a particular topic; thin-skinned is broader.
Opposites
Word family
- thin-skinned adjective
- Easily upset by criticism.
- thick-skinned adjective
- Not easily upset by criticism.
Commonly confused: thin-skinned personality or thin skin?
thin-skinned personality vs thin skin
Thin skin is a literal or figurative noun phrase meaning sensitivity; thin-skinned is the adjective.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'thin-skinned personality' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A thin-skinned personality means being easily hurt by criticism, so crying when criticized fits. Laughing at criticism or ignoring feedback suggests being thick-skinned, and 'thin-skinned personality' needs an article: 'a thin-skinned personality'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thin-skinned personality”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.