1
a
: lively or frisky in action : capricious
b
2
: easily frightened : restive
a skittish horse
skittishly
adverb
skittishness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of skittish in a Sentence
We've been skittish about taking on such a large mortgage.
the skittish colt leapt up when we approached
Recent Examples on the Web
The cats would have been too skittish at the shelter, amid hundreds of people, and were well cared for at Pasadena Humane.
—
Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Historians are skittish about predicting the future, and not only because there are too many variables and possibilities.
—Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Hitchcock pulls off a masterful rug pull, immersing his audience in the impulsive embezzlement scheme of Janet Leigh’s skittish Marion Crane before taking her off the board entirely with the immortal shower attack scene.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2024
As one of the Bay Area’s most imperiled birds, the owl has every reason to be skittish.
—Mark Degraff, The Mercury News, 14 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for skittish 
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Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Historians are skittish about predicting the future, and not only because there are too many variables and possibilities.
—Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Hitchcock pulls off a masterful rug pull, immersing his audience in the impulsive embezzlement scheme of Janet Leigh’s skittish Marion Crane before taking her off the board entirely with the immortal shower attack scene.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2024
As one of the Bay Area’s most imperiled birds, the owl has every reason to be skittish.
—Mark Degraff, The Mercury News, 14 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for skittish
Dictionary Entries Near skittish
Cite this Entry
“Skittish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skittish. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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