1
as in excitable
easily excited by nature
the skittish colt leapt up when we approached
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in timid
easily frightened
the cat is skittish around people she doesn't know
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Forest elephants are critically endangered, and decades of poaching has left them skittish—sometimes dangerously so.
—
Chris Schalkx, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2025
Still, at a time companies are already skittish about going public amid market volatility, the downbeat offering doesn’t give much assurance.
—Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
The president faced an impatient nation that is skittish over his imposition of 25% tariffs on foreign allies, which may raise everyday costs.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2025
Even before the spate of executive orders, firms were skittish about finding themselves at odds with the new Administration.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skittish
Chris Schalkx, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2025
Still, at a time companies are already skittish about going public amid market volatility, the downbeat offering doesn’t give much assurance.
—Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
The president faced an impatient nation that is skittish over his imposition of 25% tariffs on foreign allies, which may raise everyday costs.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2025
Even before the spate of executive orders, firms were skittish about finding themselves at odds with the new Administration.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skittish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skittish
Adjective
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Its participants are easily excitable and just as effortlessly aggrieved, their collective nervous system tied somewhat intrinsically to social media notifications.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2025
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And if Django’s Billy Crash tapped into Goggins’s ability to thrive with brutal spite, Mannix plays more to Goggins’s excitable energy and capacity for being clever (even when his character seems to be anything but).—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In general at the N4G summit, and in particular at a side event at the Brazilian embassy themed around food systems and climate change, discussions of climate change were timid about mentioning industrial livestock’s role in land-use change.—
Christine Ro,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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Wu was seen as timid at the beginning of the migrant crisis, staying in the background while Healey seized a Roxbury community rec center as a migrant shelter.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Over the past four years, SOFI's annual returns have been considerably more volatile than the S&P 500, with returns of 27% in 2021, -71% in 2022, 116% in 2023, and 55% in 2024.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
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Income tax is more volatile and susceptible to the ups and downs within the economy, Greller said.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Dellow was nervous about rush hour traffic, but the Uber dropped Nikishin off at 6:45 p.m. at the airport.—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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Your younger colleague is nervous about each conversation.—
Jay Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But the hauling and dumping operation has led to a dramatic fallout between county officials and Tujunga residents and is another example of a community fearful of accepting debris related to the Eaton and Palisades fires.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2025
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Victim fearful of ex-boyfriend In court documents, Garcia-Molina described how Nathan stalked her after their five-month relationship, which ended in November 2024.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Some British places are utterly unpredictable to pronounce.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
3 May 2025
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Steering the cart is an obvious responsibility of her role, but navigating the course mentally is just as important due to the unpredictable players on the field.—
Skyler Caruso,
People.com,
2 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skittish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittish. Accessed 10 May. 2025.
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