- lively or playful, esp. in a coy manner
- easily frightened; jumpy: a skittish horse
- fickle or undependable
Origin of skittish
ME: see skit and -ish
The Impala ram, wary of predators, was skittish while drinking at the waterhole.
The definition of skittish is jumpy or easy to frighten.
A horse that gets very nervous at every little sound and that jumps and runs whenever he hears a noise is an example of a horse that would be described as skittish.
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skittish
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"Skittish." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Skittish.
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Skittish. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Skittish
skittish
adjective
- Moving quickly and lightly; lively.
- Restlessly active or nervous; restive.
- Undependably variable; mercurial or fickle.
- Shy; bashful.
Origin of skittish
Middle English perhaps of Scandinavian origin Old Norse skjōta to shoot ; see shoot .Related Forms:
- skit′tish·ly
adverb
- skit′tish·ness
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"Skittish." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Skittish.
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Skittish. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Skittish
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"Skittish." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Skittish.
APA Style
Skittish. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Skittish
Sentence Examples
- Some dogs are skittish and don't particularly care for their paws being handled or their nails being touched.
- Known for bringing out the true personality of an ordinarily shy dog, a sleep away camp such as Doggie Camp can be great for a skittish dog whether or not you are going away on vacation.
- Contrary to popular belief, Greyhounds are not skittish, nor do they require hours and hours of daily exercise.
- The biggest drawback of the dog nail grinder as seen on TV is that the grinding wheel is loud, and the dog may initially be uncomfortable around it, especially if he's a skittish dog to begin with.
- Are stallions always skittish like that?
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WORDS NEAR skittish IN THE DICTIONARY
- skittish
- skitterish
- skitters
- skittery