Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The state or character of being skittish, in any sense of that word.
Wiktionary
- n. The property of being skittish.
WordNet 3.0
- n. characterized by nervousness and quickness to take fright
Etymologies
- skittish + -ness (Wiktionary)
Examples
“It's unclear whether Bishop has a longstanding history of not JUST SAYING IT: YOU WILL FAIL, or if his skittishness is a recent phenomenon having something to do with the bank down the road”
“It keeps coming back there and you wonder what is going on because nothing very damaging has happened in the US landscape to warrant this kind of skittishness, but the mother of all market appears quite nervous.”
“But some of the latest skittishness has to do with Spain itself.”
“Milan's stock exchange is suffering from increased skittishness about new listings.”
The Wall Street Journal: Moncler Defers IPO as Eurazeo Takes Stake
“More European debt worries mixed with skittishness over the growth of the U.S. economy to push down stocks Tuesday, though benchmark indexes pared earlier losses as the session progressed.”
The Wall Street Journal: Rising Volatility Prompts Recalibration of Hedges
“Uncertainty of the Eurozone's future as a currency union terrifies investors - as evidenced by their skittishness about continuing to prop up Italy and other heavily indebted countries.”
The Huffington Post: Shadi Bushra: The Eurozone: Nation-States With Benefits
“Economic uncertainty and donor skittishness have combined to threaten the future of the Global Fund.”
The Huffington Post: Nancy Mahon: Ten Years of The Global Fund: a Crossroads and a Choice
“Banks may be wary of getting too specific, given the skittishness over sovereign debt.”
The Wall Street Journal: For Banks, More Clarity Is Needed on Exposures
“The cutbacks come as many Americans and businesses have shaken off their recession-induced skittishness and are traveling again.”
“She encountered the same skittishness among media members we've often seen - Snyder repeatedly said he didn't like walking around while mic'ed, and said "every step of the way with this story there was discussion on what he felt comfortable showing on camera.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘skittishness’.
Tweets
Looking for tweets for skittishness.
vanishedone Salon: 'What makes lolcats different from the cat porn of the past -- the motivational posters of the '70s and '80s featuring furry kittens hanging from tree limbs, covered in toilet paper or in some other kind of adorable predicament -- is that lolcats aren't trying to be cute. In the cat-based imagery of ages past, cats retain their iconic traits: curiosity, skittishness, the tendency to curl up in a ball and just lie there.' Nov 16, 2008