Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state or character of being skittish, in any sense of that word.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The property of being skittish.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun characterized by nervousness and quickness to take fright

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

skittish +‎ -ness

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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

    Dealbreaker 2009

  • 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

    Dealbreaker 2009

  • 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

    Dealbreaker 2009

  • 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.

    Moneycontrol Top Headlines 2010

  • 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.

    Shadi Bushra: The Eurozone: Nation-States With Benefits Shadi Bushra 2011

  • Economic uncertainty and donor skittishness have combined to threaten the future of the Global Fund.

    Nancy Mahon: Ten Years of The Global Fund: a Crossroads and a Choice Nancy Mahon 2012

  • But some of the latest skittishness has to do with Spain itself.

    Spain Woos Wary Investors Jonathan House 2011

  • Economic uncertainty and donor skittishness have combined to threaten the future of the Global Fund.

    Nancy Mahon: Ten Years of The Global Fund: a Crossroads and a Choice Nancy Mahon 2012

  • Milan's stock exchange is suffering from increased skittishness about new listings.

    Moncler Defers IPO as Eurazeo Takes Stake Christina Passariello 2011

  • 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.

    Rising Volatility Prompts Recalibration of Hedges Chris Dieterich 2011

Comments

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  • 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.'

    November 16, 2008