释义 |
skittish /ˈskɪtɪʃ /adjective1(Of an animal, especially a horse) nervous or excitable; easily scared: a skittish chestnut mare figurative skittish investors withdrew their money from equity markets...- I think they're generally skittish and ill-tempered animals.
- You haven't drunk in a month - no wonder you're skittish.
- They are skittish and fearful of most people and talk to no one but each other.
Synonyms restive, excitable, nervous, easily frightened; skittery, jumpy, fidgety, highly strung 1.1(Of a person) playfully frivolous or unpredictable: my skittish and immature mother...- The notion seems to be that the mere look, the urbanity, the smirking of blue staters appalls the skittish people of the heartland.
- He has cast four relatively inexperienced actors who fatten up Reza's skinny and, at times, skittish characters.
- We managed to pat them a little bit, but they were pretty skittish.
Synonyms playful, lively, high-spirited, frisky, coltish; flirtatious, kittenish, coquettish informal flirty archaic frolicsome, sportive, gamesome, frolic, wanton Derivativesskittishly /ˈskɪtɪʃ(ə)li / adverb ...- But most Democrats who are on the ballot in competitive races this year skittishly avoid such stark imagery.
- In a clearing past a grove of olive trees, a snowy white lamb stands skittishly behind its grazing mother.
- I was also delighted by the way that Anna of Little Red Boat skittishly bent the concept towards her own ends.
skittishness /ˈskɪtɪʃnəs / noun ...- The skittishness of an airline executive about the possibility of behavioral profiling at American airports should be a thing of the past.
- But the skittishness isn't just restricted to the backbench.
- There could hardly be a greater contrast with this skittishness than the two photographs by Cindy Sherman which hang on a nearby wall.
OriginLate Middle English: perhaps from the rare verb skit 'move lightly and rapidly'. RhymesBritish, twittish |