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adjective

skittish

unpredictably excitable (especially of horses)

In a sentence

Six example sentences with skittish, each labelled with its topic.

  • The mare grew skittish near the water jump, so the rider walked her past it twice before every round.

    Fitness

  • Wildlife photographers crawl the last twenty meters because a skittish herd will bolt at the sound of a zipper.

    Photography

  • Traders turned skittish after the surprise announcement, dumping positions on rumors that proved false by the afternoon.

    Finance

  • Deer on the reserve are skittish in autumn, bolting at a snapped twig two hundred meters away.

    Environment

  • Investors turned skittish after the rival's collapse, and two term sheets were withdrawn in a single week.

    Startups

  • The horse hired for the chase scene proved skittish under the lights, so the crew shot the close-ups with a stand-in.

    Movies

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Found in these word lists

Found in 4 published word listsRecognized

Each source is a published word list that contains skittish. No exam board publishes an official GRE, GMAT or SAT list; GMAT words come from GRE lists and the Academic Word List.