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
Selling infrastructure to the panopticon was not a safe play, and investors were skittish.
—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025
The wildlife, of course, is less skittish with fewer people around; plus, animals are raring to go after emerging from their winter slowdowns.
—Tanvi Chheda, AFAR Media, 17 Jan. 2025
Rosie, a feral cat his wife adopted and slowly coaxed into trusting her, was skittish and unfriendly, and rarely interacted with Mr. Escott.
—Kellen Browning, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Like many other retailers, Party City marked down prices in September – on more than 2,000 items by an average of 20% – to attract skittish customers and drive sales.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for skittish
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025
The wildlife, of course, is less skittish with fewer people around; plus, animals are raring to go after emerging from their winter slowdowns.
—Tanvi Chheda, AFAR Media, 17 Jan. 2025
Rosie, a feral cat his wife adopted and slowly coaxed into trusting her, was skittish and unfriendly, and rarely interacted with Mr. Escott.
—Kellen Browning, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Like many other retailers, Party City marked down prices in September – on more than 2,000 items by an average of 20% – to attract skittish customers and drive sales.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for skittish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skittish
Adjective
-
So does that of an excitable young engineer (Jonas Strand Gravli) who pesters him with seemingly fanciful technological dreams.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
5 Feb. 2025
-
There’s lots of snarky, adult humor and many high-stakes moments that may be too excitable for younger audiences.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Cannoli certainly seemed to be timid around dogs who bark a lot, leading Saulino to believe she felt intimidated by them.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Zych was impressed by Lekki’s transformation from timid freshman to inspiring team leader.—
Matt Le Cren,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Hence, despite its extremely high valuation, the stock appears attractive but volatile, which supports our conclusion that AVGO is a tricky stock to buy.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Wall Street ultimately found the business too volatile and debt-heavy to get fully behind the stock.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Some Trump advisers were nervous the deal might go south before the ceremonial signing, but felt confident by the time Mr. Trump greeted Zelenskyy.—
Jennifer Jacobs,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2025
-
At the premiere of that film, Brothers At War, in 2009, Joe was nervous.—
Eileen Finan,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Einbinder appeared extremely fearful of addressing anything about being Jewish at this moment.—
Steven Zeitchik,
The Hollywood Reporter,
1 Mar. 2025
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Ratliff is a wealthy Southern business mogul confronted by past shady business dealings and fearful that his secrets will come to light and endanger his family, played by Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sam Nivola, and Sarah Catherine Hook.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
EW.com,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Fires are unpredictable, dangerous, and fast-moving, and every second counts.—
Andrew Ansbro,
New York Daily News,
5 Mar. 2025
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And then there’s the appeals process itself, which remains one of the most unpredictable spectacles in the sport.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skittish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittish. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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