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Synonyms

squeamish

American  
[skwee-mish] / ˈskwi mɪʃ /

adjective

  1. fastidious or dainty.

    Synonyms:
    modest
    Antonyms:
    bold

  2. easily shocked by anything slightly immodest; prudish.

    Antonyms:
    bold

  3. excessively particular or scrupulous as to the moral aspect of things.

    Synonyms:
    exacting, delicate, finicky, finical
    Antonyms:
    bold

  4. easily nauseated or disgusted.

    to get squeamish at the sight of blood.
squeamish British  
/ ˈskwiːmɪʃ /

adjective

  1. easily sickened or nauseated, as by the sight of blood

  2. easily shocked; fastidious or prudish

  3. easily frightened

    squeamish about spiders
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • oversqueamish adjective
  • oversqueamishly adverb
  • oversqueamishness noun
  • squeamishly adverb
  • squeamishness noun
  • unsqueamish adjective
  • unsqueamishly adverb
  • unsqueamishness noun

Etymology

Origin of squeamish

First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English squaymysch, squaimish(e), alteration of squemes, squaymes, squaimous, squaymous “easily nauseated, nauseating, fastidious,” from Anglo-French escoimus, escoymous; further origin uncertain

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.

Hollywood, however, is hardly squeamish when it comes to synchronized jugglers.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026

For people who feel squeamish about the process, she said it was important to know the facts around donation, adding it often helped the grieving process for families.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026

Things were different in Great Britain and her colonies, where dissections left people squeamish.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

But even this nice moment carries a squeamish undercurrent.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2025

He dare not appear squeamish before his brothers.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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.