"trigger-happy" meaning in English

See trigger-happy in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Forms: more trigger-happy [comparative], most trigger-happy [superlative]
Etymology: trigger + -happy Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|trigger|happy}} trigger + -happy Head templates: {{en-adj}} trigger-happy (comparative more trigger-happy, superlative most trigger-happy)
  1. Having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly before adequately identifying the target. Translations (having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly): 動輒開槍的 (Chinese Mandarin), 动辄开枪的 (dòngzhé kāiqiāng de) (Chinese Mandarin), skydegal (Danish), schietgraag (Dutch), liipaisinherkkä (Finnish), fou de la gâchette [masculine] (French), folle de la gâchette [feminine] (French), malade de la gâchette [feminine, masculine] (French), gâchette facile [feminine] (French), schießwütig (German), schießfreudig (German), αψίθυμος (apsíthymos) [masculine] (Greek), φιλοπόλεμος (filopólemos) [masculine] (Greek), πολεμοχαρής (polemocharís) [feminine, masculine] (Greek), gatillo fácil [masculine] (Spanish), skjutglad (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-trigger-happy-en-adj-fIMULdQR Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -happy Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 87 13 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -happy: 79 21 Disambiguation of 'having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly': 97 3
  2. (by extension) Inclined to behave recklessly or violently at the slightest provocation. Tags: broadly Translations (inclined to behave recklessly): 好鬥的 (Chinese Mandarin), 好斗的 (hàodòu de) (Chinese Mandarin), 好斗的 (Chinese Mandarin), 好战的 (hàozhàn de) (Chinese Mandarin), 好動武的 (Chinese Mandarin), 好动武的 (hào dòngwǔ de) (Chinese Mandarin), väkivaltainen (Finnish), impulsif (French), impulsiv (German), unüberlegt (German), leicht auf achtzig (German), grilletto facile (Italian)
    Sense id: en-trigger-happy-en-adj-cXA6Kcg- Disambiguation of 'inclined to behave recklessly': 3 97
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: trigger happy, triggerhappy Related terms: slap-happy

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for trigger-happy meaning in English (7.4kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "trigger",
        "3": "happy"
      },
      "expansion": "trigger + -happy",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "trigger + -happy",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more trigger-happy",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most trigger-happy",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "trigger-happy (comparative more trigger-happy, superlative most trigger-happy)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "slap-happy"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -happy",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The bystanders were indiscriminately gunned down by trigger-happy gang members.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1971, “Inner City Blues”, in What's Going On, performed by Marvin Gaye",
          "text": "Crime is increasing / Trigger happy policing / Panic is spreading / God knows where we're heading",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1980, Jagger–Richards (lyrics and music), “Claudine”, performed by The Rolling Stones",
          "text": "Claudine / Don't get trigger happy with me / Don't wave a gun at me",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly before adequately identifying the target."
      ],
      "id": "en-trigger-happy-en-adj-fIMULdQR",
      "links": [
        [
          "tendency",
          "tendency"
        ],
        [
          "desire",
          "desire"
        ],
        [
          "shoot",
          "shoot"
        ],
        [
          "firearm",
          "firearm"
        ],
        [
          "irresponsibly",
          "irresponsibly"
        ],
        [
          "adequate",
          "adequate"
        ],
        [
          "identify",
          "identify"
        ],
        [
          "target",
          "target"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "word": "動輒開槍的"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "dòngzhé kāiqiāng de",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "word": "动辄开枪的"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "word": "skydegal"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "word": "schietgraag"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "word": "liipaisinherkkä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "fou de la gâchette"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "folle de la gâchette"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "malade de la gâchette"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "gâchette facile"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "word": "schießwütig"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "word": "schießfreudig"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "note": "mit lockerer Schußwaffe (postpositioned)",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "apsíthymos",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "αψίθυμος"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "filopólemos",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "φιλοπόλεμος"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "polemocharís",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "πολεμοχαρής"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "gatillo fácil"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
          "word": "skjutglad"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Be careful when you work near him; he's trigger-happy with that chain-saw.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "He was so trigger-happy that he wheeled and punched me when I brushed by him in the hall.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 December 6, Kenny Coyle, “A new stage of resistance: Burmese communists return to armed struggle”, in Morning Star",
          "text": "In a country like Burma, where the trigger-happy ruling elite resorted to arms even against unarmed students on university campuses, we have drawn lessons from history. It has taught us to resort to arms when fighting against fully armed demons.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Inclined to behave recklessly or violently at the slightest provocation."
      ],
      "id": "en-trigger-happy-en-adj-cXA6Kcg-",
      "links": [
        [
          "behave",
          "behave"
        ],
        [
          "recklessly",
          "recklessly"
        ],
        [
          "violently",
          "violently"
        ],
        [
          "slightest",
          "slightest"
        ],
        [
          "provocation",
          "provocation"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) Inclined to behave recklessly or violently at the slightest provocation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "好鬥的"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "hàodòu de",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "好斗的"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "好斗的"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "hàozhàn de",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "好战的"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "好動武的"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "hào dòngwǔ de",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "好动武的"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "väkivaltainen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "impulsif"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "impulsiv"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "unüberlegt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "leicht auf achtzig"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
          "word": "grilletto facile"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "trigger happy"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "triggerhappy"
    }
  ],
  "word": "trigger-happy"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English terms suffixed with -happy"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "trigger",
        "3": "happy"
      },
      "expansion": "trigger + -happy",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "trigger + -happy",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more trigger-happy",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most trigger-happy",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "trigger-happy (comparative more trigger-happy, superlative most trigger-happy)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "slap-happy"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The bystanders were indiscriminately gunned down by trigger-happy gang members.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1971, “Inner City Blues”, in What's Going On, performed by Marvin Gaye",
          "text": "Crime is increasing / Trigger happy policing / Panic is spreading / God knows where we're heading",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1980, Jagger–Richards (lyrics and music), “Claudine”, performed by The Rolling Stones",
          "text": "Claudine / Don't get trigger happy with me / Don't wave a gun at me",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly before adequately identifying the target."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "tendency",
          "tendency"
        ],
        [
          "desire",
          "desire"
        ],
        [
          "shoot",
          "shoot"
        ],
        [
          "firearm",
          "firearm"
        ],
        [
          "irresponsibly",
          "irresponsibly"
        ],
        [
          "adequate",
          "adequate"
        ],
        [
          "identify",
          "identify"
        ],
        [
          "target",
          "target"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Be careful when you work near him; he's trigger-happy with that chain-saw.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "He was so trigger-happy that he wheeled and punched me when I brushed by him in the hall.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 December 6, Kenny Coyle, “A new stage of resistance: Burmese communists return to armed struggle”, in Morning Star",
          "text": "In a country like Burma, where the trigger-happy ruling elite resorted to arms even against unarmed students on university campuses, we have drawn lessons from history. It has taught us to resort to arms when fighting against fully armed demons.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Inclined to behave recklessly or violently at the slightest provocation."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "behave",
          "behave"
        ],
        [
          "recklessly",
          "recklessly"
        ],
        [
          "violently",
          "violently"
        ],
        [
          "slightest",
          "slightest"
        ],
        [
          "provocation",
          "provocation"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) Inclined to behave recklessly or violently at the slightest provocation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "trigger happy"
    },
    {
      "word": "triggerhappy"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "word": "動輒開槍的"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "dòngzhé kāiqiāng de",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "word": "动辄开枪的"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "word": "skydegal"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "word": "schietgraag"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "word": "liipaisinherkkä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "fou de la gâchette"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "folle de la gâchette"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "malade de la gâchette"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "gâchette facile"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "word": "schießwütig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "word": "schießfreudig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "note": "mit lockerer Schußwaffe (postpositioned)",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "apsíthymos",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "αψίθυμος"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "filopólemos",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "φιλοπόλεμος"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "polemocharís",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "πολεμοχαρής"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "gatillo fácil"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly",
      "word": "skjutglad"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "好鬥的"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "hàodòu de",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "好斗的"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "好鬥的"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "好斗的"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "hàozhàn de",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "好战的"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "好動武的"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "hào dòngwǔ de",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "好动武的"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "väkivaltainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "impulsif"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "impulsiv"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "unüberlegt"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "leicht auf achtzig"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "inclined to behave recklessly",
      "word": "grilletto facile"
    }
  ],
  "word": "trigger-happy"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.