flightier; flightiest
1
: swift
2
: lacking stability or steadiness:
a
: easily upset : volatile
a flighty temper
b
: easily excited : skittish
a flighty horse
flightily adverb
flightiness noun

Examples of flighty in a Sentence

an actress who specializes in playing silly, flighty women you have to be quiet while the deer are grazing, as they are flighty animals and will run if they hear you
Recent Examples on the Web In January 1971 his sitcom All in the Family introduced the Bunkers, bigoted Archie and his flighty wife Edith, and their liberal daughter and son-in-law, to the public. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 On the downside, there's some occasional lag, the heart rate tracker is flighty, and some health features work only with Samsung phones. WIRED, 28 Oct. 2023 The animosity toward Henrietta Maria took a familiar form, with critics tarring her as both cold and calculating and promiscuous and flighty. John Kelly, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2023 Streep’s Loretta stands out as immediately suspicious, a manic and flighty woman who was getting her big break (and a date) from Oliver. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2023 If 100% deposit insurance is too much to swallow, then other measures that reduce the flighty nature of uninsured deposits are needed. Lawrence J. White, Fortune, 24 July 2023 But the basic flighty nature of those uninsured deposits–and the consequent fragility of the U.S. banking system–remains. Lawrence J. White, Fortune, 24 July 2023 Top-notch casting is the cherry on top, with Lily James as the supremely likable Cinderella, Richard Madden as her down-to-earth prince, Cate Blanchett as the detestable stepmother with her own imperfect backstory, and Helena Bonham Carter as one lovably flighty fairy godmother. Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 27 May 2023 And their deposit base was just a bunch of super flighty customers that were ready to run as the first sign of trouble. Quartz Staff, Quartz, 23 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flighty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flighty was in 1552

Dictionary Entries Near flighty

Cite this Entry

“Flighty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flighty. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

flighty

adjective
flightier; flightiest
1
: easily excited : skittish
flighty horses
2
flightily adverb
flightiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on flighty

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