skittish
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Skittish — Skit tish, a. [See {Skit}, v. t.] 1. Easily frightened; timorous; shy; untrustworthy; as, a skittish colt. A restiff, skittish jade. L Estrange. [1913 Webster] 2. Wanton; restive; freakish; volatile; changeable; fickle. Skittish Fortune s hall.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
skittish — [skit′ish] adj. [ME: see SKIT & ISH] 1. lively or playful, esp. in a coy manner 2. easily frightened; jumpy [a skittish horse] 3. fickle or undependable skittishly adv. skittishness n … English World dictionary
skittish — (adj.) early 15c., very lively, frivolous, perhaps from Scandinavian base *skyt (stem of O.N. skjuta to shoot ), from PIE root *skeud to shoot, to chase, to throw, to project (see SHOOT (Cf. shoot) (v.)). Sense of apt to run first recorded c.1500 … Etymology dictionary
skittish — [adj] very nervous agitable, alarmable, capricious, changeable, combustible, dizzy*, edgy, excitable, excited, fearful, fickle, fidgety, flighty, frivolous, giddy, harebrained, highstrung*, irresponsible, jumpy, lightheaded, lively, peppy,… … New thesaurus
skittish — ► ADJECTIVE 1) (of a horse) nervous; inclined to shy. 2) lively and unpredictable; playful. DERIVATIVES skittishly adverb skittishness noun. ORIGIN perhaps related to SKIT(Cf. ↑skit) … English terms dictionary
Skittish — Infobox Album | Name = Skittish Type = Album Artist = Mike Doughty Released = 2000 Recorded = July 5 1996 Genre = Rock Length = 32:17 Label = (self released) Producer = Kramer Reviews = Last album = This album = Skittish (2000) Next album =… … Wikipedia
skittish — skit|tish [ˈskıtıʃ] adj [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: Perhaps from Old Norse skjota to shoot ] 1.) an animal, especially a horse, that is skittish gets excited or frightened very easily 2.) a person who is skittish is not very serious, and their… … Dictionary of contemporary English
skittish — skit|tish [ skıtıʃ ] adjective nervous or worried and likely to change your opinion about something: Internet users had been skittish about shopping online. Skittish investors have already removed their money. a. used about horses that are… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
skittish — [[t]skɪ̱tɪʃ[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED If you describe a person or animal as skittish, you mean they are easily made frightened or excited. The declining dollar gave heart to skittish investors. Syn: nervous 2) ADJ GRADED Someone who is skittish does not … English dictionary
skittish — UK [ˈskɪtɪʃ] / US adjective nervous or worried and likely to change your opinion about something Skittish investors have already removed their money. Internet users had been skittish about shopping online. a) used about horses that are nervous… … English dictionary
