skittish
adjective
apt to start or shy.
skittishly
-
a word derived from
skittish.
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 could make Pyongyang act less skittishly in crises," he said.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2023
Those of us who went to work in person, did so skittishly, with concern often and amidst risk.
From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2021
But I was skittishly anticipating other people’s “atavistic response to any aberrant motion,” as Michael J. Fox describes it.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2021
We stand there in the warm twilight for two or three minutes, skittishly awaiting Act I, Scene 1 of “King Lear.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 5, 2014
We began cheerfully, one might almost say skittishly, but our light-heartedness was gone by the time the first potato was finished.
From Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome
