skittish
Americanadjective
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apt to start or shy.
a skittish horse.
-
restlessly or excessively lively.
a skittish mood.
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fickle; uncertain.
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shy; coy.
adjective
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playful, lively, or frivolous
-
difficult to handle or predict
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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.
Buyers are skittish due to high mortgage rates and economic jitters, which means many sellers aren’t getting the list price they hoped for.
Jerky and skittish after starting a series well.
From BBC
Unforgivable chasing of Mitchell Starc in the twilight ended a skittish first innings, made all the more wasteful when he was out to a good ball in the second.
From BBC
Airlines lost booking momentum when some customers turned skittish and made other plans ahead of Thanksgiving holiday.
From MarketWatch
His half-century in the first innings was skittish, but valuable.
From BBC
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.
