skittish
Americanadjective
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apt to start or shy.
a skittish horse.
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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
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difficult to handle or predict
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rare coy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of skittish
1375–1425; late Middle English, perhaps derivative of the Scand source of skite 1; see -ish 1
Explanation
If you're skittish, you're unpredictable and excitable. You've probably seen skittish horses in parades — the loud noises and crowds of people make them very nervous and jumpy. The adjective skittish isn't just for animals — humans can be skittish too. If you're sleeping in a haunted house, for example, you're likely to be skittish, jumping at every moving shadow. Skittish can also mean flighty in thought — like your boss who's skittish about giving you a raise and avoids discussing it. The word is thought to have come from the Scandinavian word skyt, meaning "very lively, frivolous."
Vocabulary lists containing skittish
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Touching Spirit Bear
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The Things They Carried
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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.
“It’s known that in an environment where investors get a little bit more skittish, like today, you won’t see huge amounts of outflows.”
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
It took some time to find ground handlers to push Giordano’s plane back—some vendors are skittish about anything having to do with Spirit and worry about getting paid.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
The Carrillo-Wicks bill is meant to push developers who are interested in off-site construction but skittish about its financial viability.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
"Markets can look skittish or confused, but what they're really doing is managing event risk in real time, with oil sitting right at the centre of that."
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Yellow Eyes joined them, his horse skittish as well.
From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III
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.
