skittish
Americanadjective
-
apt to start or shy.
a skittish horse.
-
restlessly or excessively lively.
a skittish mood.
-
fickle; uncertain.
-
shy; coy.
adjective
-
playful, lively, or frivolous
-
difficult to handle or predict
-
rare coy
Other Word Forms
- skittishly adverb
- skittishness noun
Etymology
Origin of skittish
1375–1425; late Middle English, perhaps derivative of the Scand source of skite 1; -ish 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Equity markets are rightfully skittish just now, because all three factors are in play,” said Colas.
From MarketWatch
ABC as a broadcast network is held to higher standard than it's streaming partner Hulu due to oversight by the federal regulator and advertisers, who may be skittish when it comes to racy programming.
From BBC
But the details of the exposure are murky, and investors have grown skittish about banks’ connections to private credit this year.
Stories of job loss abound within the US Haitian diaspora as some employers become skittish over the uncertainty surrounding TPS.
From Barron's
Equity investors have grown increasingly skittish about AI’s impact on companies once seen as beneficiaries of the technology.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
