skittish

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“
Ellie Mae, described as a skittish, one-and-a-half year old, medium-sized, beagle-shepherd mix, ran away from a volunteer dog walker on Independence Pass on March 3, according to Anne Gurchick, assistant director of the Aspen / Pitkin Animal Shelter.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Moving quickly and lightly; lively.
  2. adjective Restlessly active or nervous; restive.
  3. adjective Undependably variable; mercurial or fickle.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (40)

  • The horse in question was foolish and skittish, as one might expect from a horse that had run through a fence, but I enjoyed the suture job just the same. —  Analog, April 2002
  • Deirdre looked rather skittish, and I wasn't sure she was up for it. —  Celtic Riddle
  • Looking around cautiously now, skittish, they walked for several miles more, surrounded by the turpentiney scent of the air. —  The Empty Chair
  • That said, one scene made me a little skittish -- that stilted '' are you okay? '' exchange between Beyoncé (at right) and J. Hud. —  Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch
  • The other thing that made me a little skittish was the whole last-act shootout outside the ER, which was all a little —  Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

restive ·  frisky ·  half-broken ·  fractious ·  piebald ·  high-strung ·  untamed ·  riderless ·  dumpy ·  twitchy ·  anaemic ·  thoroughbred
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skjōta, to shoot; see shoot.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from late Middle English skyttyshe; from skit + -ish.
 

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/ˈskɪtɪʃ/
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