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Definition of skittish
1a : lively or frisky in action : capriciousb : variable, fluctuating
2 : easily frightened : restive a skittish horse
3a : coy, bashfulb : marked by extreme caution : wary skittish investors
skittishly
adverbskittishness
nounFrom the M-W Editors
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 of skittish from the Web
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But Detroit paid pension holders before bondholders, and Mackey said that since then investors have been skittish about trusting general obligation bonds.
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My horse clearly didn't share my enjoyment, becoming increasingly skittish.
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Hollywood grew skittish about making female superhero films after both Catwoman (2004) and Elektra (2005) flopped.
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The risk isn’t just to individual investors; many argue that the mania of the late-1990s internet bubble ultimately slowed the entire sector down by making investors skittish for years afterwards.
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The close-up shows the normally skittish spider grasping a cricket in its jaws and slowly devouring it.
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In this skittish town on Mexico’s heroin highway, civilians with rusty shotguns shake down passing cars for contributions to the public defense.
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Higher borrowing costs and unusual distortions in lending suggest that investors are skittish about growth.
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With investors skittish over the potential for higher defaults on auto and student loans, St. Pierre is one of many industry analysts and banking executives who’ve sought to allay similar concerns over rising credit-card write-offs.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'skittish'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of skittish
Middle English, from skit- (probably from Old Norse skyt-) + -ish
SKITTISH Defined for English Language Learners
skittish
playDefinition of skittish for English Language Learners
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of an animal : easily frightened or excited
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: nervous or fearful about doing something
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: tending to change often : not dependable or stable
SKITTISH Defined for Kids
skittish
playDefinition of skittish for Students
: easily frightened a skittish horse
Learn More about skittish
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See words that rhyme with skittish Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for skittish Spanish Central: Translation of skittish Nglish: Translation of skittish for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of skittish for Arabic speakers
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