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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of skittish
But the skittish-librarian stereotype?
—
Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Dec. 2025
Earlier this year, the Times reported that Gen Z is skittish about opening bar tabs.
—Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
Everyone is welcoming and warm—other than a free-roaming ostrich, curious and slightly surly, which keeps skittish guard over the entire site.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 21 Dec. 2025
The females tend to be more skittish by nature but hormones drive that.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skittish
Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Dec. 2025
Earlier this year, the Times reported that Gen Z is skittish about opening bar tabs.
—Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
Everyone is welcoming and warm—other than a free-roaming ostrich, curious and slightly surly, which keeps skittish guard over the entire site.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 21 Dec. 2025
The females tend to be more skittish by nature but hormones drive that.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skittish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skittish
Adjective
-
By 1984, each of the British new wave gods’ first three albums had gone platinum, their cinematic videos were regularly rotated on MTV, and nonstop global touring attracted Swiftian levels of excitable fans.—
A.D. Amorosi,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The venue was crammed with excitable 20- and 30-something women, among them Willa Bennett, the editor of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen.—
Carrie Battan,
Vulture,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The siblings have different personalities, according to their keepers; Xiao Xiao is timid while his sister Lei Lei is fearless and adapts to changes quickly.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
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Oswald’s timid Ludie is gentle, sad and almost childlike in his lack of assertiveness toward his wife.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Key's Jerry is a disruption through and through, knocking everything just a little off-kilter with each volatile appearance.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Paul Weller is still a godlike figure, but the Jam themselves had a really distinct chemistry and sounded very volatile onstage and are among the great punk groups.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
While the money is flowing, state officials are still nervous.—
Miquéla V Thornton,
Bloomberg,
27 Jan. 2026
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The atmosphere at the Emirates was nervous, too, and their next two opponents — Leeds (away) and Sunderland (home) — will give no quarter.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Portfolios Over Individual Stock Selections Individual stocks are unpredictable.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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This approach addresses a common limitation of conventional robotic architectures, where perception, planning, and control are handled by separate components that can struggle to respond to unpredictable environments.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skittish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittish. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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