skittish
/ˈskɪtɪʃ/ adjective
- adjective Easily scared or startled; timid. “The dog likes people he knows, but he is skittish around strangers.”
- adjective Wanton; changeable; fickle.
- adjective Difficult to manage; tricky.
Synonyms
spookish jumpy skittery skitterish squirrelly flighty spooky nervous
Etymology
Probably from skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction (Scotland, Northern England)”) + -ish; compare skitter.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Easily frightened; timorous; shy; untrustworthy; as, a skittish colt. "A restiff, skittish jade." L'Estrange.
- adjective Wanton; restive; freakish; volatile; changeable; fickle. "Skittish Fortune's hall." Shak.
Etymology [See Skit, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “skittish”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details