skittish

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: skit=tish

CIDE DICTIONARY

skittish, a. [See Skit, v. t.].

•  Easily frightened; timorous; shy; untrustworthy; as, a skittish colt.  L'Estrange.  [1913 Webster]
•  Wanton; restive; freakish; volatile; changeable; fickle.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

skittish, adj.
1 lively, playful.
2 (of a horse etc.) nervous, inclined to shy, fidgety.

Derivative

skittishly adv. skittishness n.

Etymology

ME, perh. formed as SKIT(1)

THESAURUS

skittish

agitable, allergic, anaphylactic, animated, antic, bashful, capersome, changeable, coltish, combustible, confused, conscious, coquettish, cowardly, coy, delicate, demure, diffident, dizzy, edgy, emotional, emotionally unstable, empathetic, empathic, empty-headed, eruptive, excitable, explosive, exuberant, faddish, fearful, fearing, fearsome, fickle, flighty, flirtatious, frisky, frivolous, frolicsome, full of beans, gamesome, gay, giddy, goosy, harebrained, hearty, high-mettled, high-spirited, high-strung, highly emotional, hyperesthetic, hyperpathic, hypersensitive, in fear, inarticulate, inconstant, inflammable, irascible, irresponsible, irritable, itchy, jumpy, light, light-headed, lively, mercurial, mettlesome, mousy, nervous, overrefined, oversensible, oversensitive, overtender, passible, perturbable, playful, prickly, quicksilver, rabbity, rattlebrained, refined, responsive, restive, rollicking, rollicksome, rompish, scary, scatterbrained, self-conscious, sensitive, shaky, shamefaced, shamefast, shivery, shrinking, shy, skittery, spirited, sportive, sprightly, stammering, startlish, supersensitive, sympathetic, tactful, tender, tetchy, thin-skinned, ticklish, timid, timorous, touchy, toying, trembling, tremulous, trepidant, trigger-happy, undependable, unpredictable, unreliable, vacillating, versatile, vital, vivacious, volatile, volcanic, zestful, zippy

ROGET THESAURUS

skittish

Caprice

N caprice, fancy, humor, whim, whimsy, whimsey, whimwham, crotchet, capriccio, quirk, freak, maggot, fad, vagary, prank, fit, flimflam, escapade, boutade, wild-goose chase, capriciousness, kink, capricious, erratic, eccentric, fitful, hysterical, full of whims, maggoty, inconsistent, fanciful, fantastic, whimsical, crotchety, kinky, particular, humorsome, freakish, skittish, wanton, wayward, contrary, captious, arbitrary, unconformable, penny wise and pound foolish, fickle, frivolous, sleeveless, giddy, volatile, by fits and starts, without rhyme or reason, nil fuit unquain sic inipar sibi, the deuce is in him.

Excitability

N excitability, impetuosity, vehemence, boisterousness, turbulence, impatience, intolerance, nonendurance, irritability, itching, wincing, disquiet, disquietude, restlessness, fidgets, fidgetiness, agitation, trepidation, perturbation, ruffle, hurry, fuss, flurry, fluster, flutter, pother, stew, ferment, whirl, buck fever, hurry-skurry, thrill, state of excitement, fever of excitement, transport, passion, excitement, flush, heat, fever, heat, fire, flame, fume, blood boiling, tumult, effervescence, ebullition, boiling over, whiff, gust, story, tempest, scene, breaking out, burst, fit, paroxysm, explosion, outbreak, outburst, agony, violence, fierceness, rage, fury, furor, furore, desperation, madness, distraction, raving, delirium, phrensy, frenzy, hysterics, intoxication, tearing passion, raging passion, anger, fascination, infatuation, fanaticism, Quixotism, Quixotry, tete montee, excitable, easily excited, in an excitable state, high-strung, irritable, impatient, intolerant, feverish, febrile, hysterical, delirious, mad, moody, maggoty- headed, unquiet, mercurial, electric, galvanic, hasty, hurried, restless, fidgety, fussy, chafing, startlish, mettlesome, high-mettled, skittish, vehement, demonstrative, violent, wild, furious, fierce, fiery, hot-headed, madcap, overzealous, enthusiastic, impassioned, fanatical, rabid, rampant, clamorous, uproarious, turbulent, tempestuous, tumultuary, boisterous, impulsive, impetuous, passionate, uncontrolled, uncontrollable, ungovernable, irrepressible, stanchless, inextinguishable, burning, simmering, volcanic, ready to burst forth, volatile, excited, exciting, Int, pish!, pshaw!, noli me tangere, filled with fury, rapt, inspir'd, maggiore fretta minore atto.

Cowardice

N cowardice, pusillanimity, cowardliness, timidity, effeminacy, poltroonery, baseness, dastardness, dastardy, abject fear, funk, Dutch courage, fear, white feather, faint heart, cold feet, yellow streak, coward, poltroon, dastard, sneak, recreant, shy cock, dunghill cock, coistril, milksop, white liver, lily liver, nidget, one that cannot say 'boo' to a goose, slink, Bob Acres, Jerry Sneak, alarmist, terrorist, pessimist, runagate, coward, cowardly, fearful, shy, timid, timorous, skittish, poor- spirited, spiritless, soft, effeminate, weak-minded, infirm of purpose, weak-hearted, fainthearted, chickenhearted, henhearted, lilyhearted, pigeon-hearted, white- livered, lily-livered, milk-livered, milksop, smock-faced, unable to say 'boo' to a goose, dastard, dastardly, base, craven, sneaking, dunghill, recreant, unwarlike, unsoldier-like, in face a lion but in heart a deer, unmanned, frightened, Int, sauve qui peut!, every man for himself!, devil take the hindmost!, ante tubam trepidat, one's courage oozing out, degeneres animos timor arguit.

Modesty

N modesty, humility, diffidence, timidity, retiring disposition, unobtrusiveness, bashfulness, mauvaise honte, blush, blushing, verecundity, self-knowledge, reserve, constraint, demureness, blushing honors, modest, diffident, humble, timid, timorous, bashful, shy, nervous, skittish, coy, sheepish, shamefaced, blushing, overmodest, unpretending, unpretentious, unobtrusive, unassuming, unostentatious, unboastful, unaspiring, poor in spirit, out of countenance, reserved, constrained, demure, humbly, quietly, privately, without ceremony, without beat of drum, sans fa, not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty, thy modesty's a candle to thy merit.