1
as in excitable
easily excited by nature
the skittish colt leapt up when we approached
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in timid
easily frightened
the cat is skittish around people she doesn't know
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in volatile
likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly
a skittish housing market had both buyers and sellers on edge
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of skittish
Despite his skittish nature and love for screaming, Chips has a soft spot for music — especially the Game of Thrones intro, which sends him into a singing frenzy.
—
Ashley Vega, People.com, 6 May 2025
Rising economic anxiety, even among the 5% Evidence from the housing market and beyond suggests that the top 5% of U.S. households are growing skittish.
—Catherine Baab, Quartz, 27 May 2025
At the same time, progressives are too skittish about enforcing seemingly any criminal law, moderate Democrats don’t want to look like progressives, and Republicans are Republicans.
—Sal Rodriguez, Oc Register, 7 May 2025
Image Image Isn’t there a risk that a skittish cat will be frightened by a dog and go deeper into hiding?
—Emily Anthes, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skittish
Ashley Vega, People.com, 6 May 2025
Rising economic anxiety, even among the 5% Evidence from the housing market and beyond suggests that the top 5% of U.S. households are growing skittish.
—Catherine Baab, Quartz, 27 May 2025
At the same time, progressives are too skittish about enforcing seemingly any criminal law, moderate Democrats don’t want to look like progressives, and Republicans are Republicans.
—Sal Rodriguez, Oc Register, 7 May 2025
Image Image Isn’t there a risk that a skittish cat will be frightened by a dog and go deeper into hiding?
—Emily Anthes, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skittish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skittish
Adjective
-
In 2023 and the first months of 2024, his name cropped up in a lot of excitable articles in the Rio de Janeiro press.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
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The telling of the entire story of America, after all, calls into question the greatness that Donald Trump pledges to restore, and agitates a base that remains threatened and excitable by our multicultural reality.—
Kevin Sack,
Time,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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Otherwise, they are destined to be remembered as useless and timid wimps as the U.S. was slouching toward a dictatorship.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
24 June 2025
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If the cat remains frightened and timid, talk to your vet about medications that might help.—
Joan Morris,
Mercury News,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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While the character brandishes a firearm and things eventually come to blows in physical tussles over the course of the volatile evening, Gallo's script never loses grip on the tender undercurrent of intimacy established back in Ponyboi's shower.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
27 June 2025
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Budget Pressure Is Driving Clarity The reflex in volatile markets is often to scale up teams or stack more tools.—
Jeremy Barnett,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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But with Wirtz, there was suddenly an effort not to do that; the media got nervous about calling it a record.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Watching his son evolve from a 4-star recruit out of Columbus High School in Miami to an eventual first-round pick out of Michigan State, Richardson doesn’t get too nervous or overly excited when Jase is on the court.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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The restaurant industry — which has long maintained a status quo of hiring immigrants — is finding creative solutions to support fearful staff.—
Karla Marie Sanford,
Los Angeles Times,
30 June 2025
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In Jewish Insider, Gabby Deutsch talks to the Democrats who are fearful about what the Mamdani win means.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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The head of the European Central Bank said inflation has become more unpredictable due to shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and that policymakers need to take the possibility of such extreme scenarios into account and communicate them to the public as well.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 July 2025
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But for investors who are wary of the susceptibility of Argos’s sales to the unpredictable nature of the weather, the team is ramping up its efforts to expand its products to include stockless ranges.—
John Choong,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skittish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittish. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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