skittery
1
8.7
- adjective
- /ˈskɪtəri/
:
nervioso
- And they'd be skittery about it too, and their faces would all close up like at cards. They'd walk around the thing, poke it with their toe, and ask, "Where'd you all get it? What's the matter with it?"
Examples
-
"Wait for us, Aunt Liza!" When they ran after her, they looked as skittery and high-bottomed as two little hermit crabs.
Fiction book (1995) -
The lamb is skittery and difficult to keep hold of.
Fiction book (2002) -
She's so skittery I must be a lesson for her, a cautionary tale.
Fiction book (1995) -
"I'm too skittery.
Fiction book (2001) -
She looked skinny and skittery, and she stood before them raging at the police, using language that embarrassed and humiliated them.
Fiction book (1993) -
The cat was so skittery that it darted away at the slightest sound.
-
He has a skittery personality, always twitching and looking around nervously.
-
During the thunderstorm, the dog became skittery, hiding under the table and shaking.
Synonyms
54
4.3
Feeling nervous and easily startled by sudden sounds
26
4.5
Feeling nervous and unable to stay still
25
7.0
Easily frightened or nervous and likely to move suddenly
10
9.1
Feeling nervous and acting in strange, unpredictable ways
9
4.6
Feeling nervous and unable to stay still
8
4.8
Unable to stay still because you feel nervous
3
8.4
Acting nervous and strange in a way you cannot predict
2
4.9
Feeling nervous and excited with a quick, shaky feeling in the body
1
8.6
Feeling nervous and lacking confidence in new situations
Nervous and easily frightened, likely to jump at sudden sounds
Antonyms
How Nervous
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word skittery comes from the verb skitter, a word that copies the quick, light sound of something sliding or 'darting' across a surface. It is closely related to the word skittish, which also means nervous and jumpy. So, skittery describes someone or something that is easily frightened and moves quickly in a nervous way, like a small animal that suddenly runs away.