Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

skittish

/ˈskɪtɪʃ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.63 in modern English

Syllables: skit-tish
IPA: /ˈskɪtɪʃ/

15

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Easily scared or startled; timid.

adj

Wanton; changeable; fickle.

adj

Difficult to manage; tricky.

Example Sentences

"The dog likes people he knows, but he is skittish around strangers."
"1557, Roger Edgeworth, Sermons Very Fruitfull, Godly, and Learned, London: Robert Caly, The fiftenth treatice or Sermon, All such be like a skittish starting horse, whiche coming ouer a bridge, wil start for a shadowe, or for a stone lying by him, and leapeth ouer on the other side into the water, & drowneth both horse and man."
"How some men creep in skittish fortune’s hall, Whiles others play the idiots in her eyes!"
"[…] ’Tis pitiful To court a grin, when you should wooe a soul; To break a jest, when pity would inspire Pathetic exhortation; and t’ address The skittish fancy with facetious tales, When sent with God’s commission to the heart."
"For everybody’s family doctor was remarkably clever, and was understood to have immeasurable skill in the management and training of the most skittish or vicious diseases."

Etymology

Probably from skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction (Scotland, Northern England)”) + -ish; compare skitter.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: skite

Inflected Forms

more skittish (comparative) most skittish (superlative)

Derived Forms

skittishly skittishness unskittish

Frequently Paired Words

startle

Synonyms

spookish jumpy skittery skitterish squirrelly flighty spooky nervous

Rhymes With

british

Questions

How do you pronounce skittish?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈskɪtɪʃ/.
What does skittish mean?: Easily scared or startled; timid.
Where does skittish come from?: Probably from skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction (Scotland, Northern England)”) + -ish; compare skitter.

How to pronounce skittish

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “skittish”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈskɪtɪʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “skittish” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.