skittish

adjective

skit·​tish ˈski-tish 

1

a

: lively or frisky in action : capricious

b

: variable, fluctuating

2

: easily frightened : restive

a skittish horse

3

a

: coy, bashful

b

: marked by extreme caution : wary

skittish investors

skittishly adverb

skittishness noun

Synonyms of skittish

• excitable
• nervous

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 on the Web

But their complaints come as Lecornu's government seeks to rein in public spending to appease skittish bond markets, which have punished France more harshly than many of its peers this year, amid a global bond market rout. — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

But through the first month of the season, Jones has looked a lot like the skittish quarterback who the Giants once benched and eventually cut. — James Boyd, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

When nobody can answer questions like these, the organization gets skittish about scaling, and that kills more projects than any bug ever will. — Amirtha Saminathan, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

This Dodge Charger reboot in Scat Pack form isn’t a cush highway cruiser, but the adaptive dampers keep it from getting skittish over broken Midwest pavement. — Joel Feder, The Drive, 24 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from skit- (probably from Old Norse skyt-) + -ish

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for skittish

• british

Kids Definition

skittish

adjective

skit·​tish ˈskit-ish 

1

: lively or frisky in action

2

: easily frightened : restive

a skittish horse

3

: bashful

skittishly adverb

skittishness noun