edgy

adj

1. Nervous, apprehensive.
2. Creatively challenging; cutting edge; leading edge.
3. (figuratively)On the edge between acceptable and offensive; pushing the boundaries of good taste; risqué.

   ““A few college kids make edgy jokes in a group chat and conservatives are tripping over themselves to denounce and disavow and call for firings and resignations,” Matt Walsh, a right-wing commentator, posted on X.”

4. (dated)Irritable.

   “an edgy temper”

5. Having some of the forms, such as drapery or the like, too sharply defined.

   “A sculptor's ideas must, I should guess, be somewhat rigid and inflexible, like the materials in which he works. Besides, Nollekens's style was comparatively hard and edgy.”

6. Sharp; having prominent edges.

   “Shasta tried to get out of the way and to make Bree go back. But […] a woman with a very edgy basket in her hands, who was just behind Shasta, pushed the basket hard against his shoulders, and said, "Now then! Who are you shoving!"”

7. (slang)Cool by virtue of being tough, dark, or badass.

   “My bicep, my poor little cluster of nearly muscle is being pressed into a funsize turkey nugget and I’m starting to perhaps regret my outing with this bunch of Brentford fans who have that slightly edgier reputation.”

   “His cool, somewhat edgy look is directed back at the photographer, as if she was too close, perhaps had seen too much.”

   “This former aspiring rapper-turned author brings out the heartfelt emotion in his writing from an edgy street-life perspective that leaves the reader begging for more.”

   “This is where the edgiest fashion happens (and where the major brands send their researchers and cool-hunters to sniff out the coming looks).”

   “The full bar adds to the edgy attitude of the place, which stays open until midnight on weekends.”

8. (Internet)Exhibiting behavior that is disconcerting or alarming, sometimes in an effort to impress or to troll others.

   “These trolls think they’re being satirical and brave because they’re putting these dangerous, edgy so-called jokes on there, but in reality it’s cowardly. It’s the antithesis of bravery because they rarely identify themselves or give away personal information. That’s not courage.”

   “A large portion of the Internet audience enjoys edgy content and the behavior of the more extreme users; it wants to see the bad with the good, so it becomes harder to get rid of the ugly. But to attract more mainstream audiences and bring in the big-budget advertisers, you must hide or remove the ugly.”

   “Dank meme communities love making fun of fidget spinners, especially because spinners are associated with autistic kids, a favorite target for mockery in “edgy” online spaces like 4chan and Reddit. There, spinners are considered emblematic of everything that’s wrong with society, and they’re used as a metaphor for anything unlikeable.”