skittishness
Easily startled nature
Skittishness is the quality of being easily startled, nervous, or unpredictable.
The word applies most naturally to horses and other animals that spook at sudden movements: The mare's skittishness made her difficult to train.
Extended to people, it suggests jumpiness or reluctance to commit: investor skittishness about the bond market.
Alarming or startling
- shyingRecoiling with hesitation
- boltingDeparting at speed
- buckingJumping to unseat rider
- rearingNurturing to maturity
balking · startling · flightiness · wariness · wild-eyed · snorting · prancing · sidestepping
Anxiously restless
- jumpyNervously reactive to stimuli
- edgyTense and irritable
- twitchyNervously prone to spasms
- spookedFrightened into alertness
startled · flighty · antsy · nervy · panicky · hyperalert · high-strung · on edge
Lacking courage or confidence
- shyReserved and retiring
- fearfulFull of fright
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
- waryGuardedly alert
cautious · hesitant · anxious · nervous · uneasy · trepidation · fright · alarm
Restless minor movements
- pacingRate of movement
- shiftingChanging position or form
- squirmingTwisting restlessly from discomfort
- agitationDisturbed, restless state
impatience · unsettled · fretful · antsy · nervousness · twitchiness · unease · disquiet
Rapid, unpredictable changeability
- instabilityTendency toward unpredictable change
- fluctuationIrregular change over time
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- unpredictabilityState resisting forecasts
market jitters · risk aversion · sell-off · panic selling · flight to safety · correction · turbulence · cautiousness
spooking
Alarming or startling
rearing · balking · startling · flightiness · wariness · wild-eyed · snorting · prancing · sidestepping · unbroken
jittery
Anxiously restless
spooked · startled · flighty · antsy · nervy · panicky · hyperalert · high-strung · on edge · excitable
timid
Lacking courage or confidence
- shyReserved and retiring
- fearfulFull of fright
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
wary · cautious · hesitant · anxious · nervous · uneasy · trepidation · fright · alarm · spooked
fidgeting
Restless minor movements
agitation · impatience · unsettled · fretful · antsy · nervousness · twitchiness · unease · disquiet · fussiness
volatility
Rapid, unpredictable changeability
- instabilityTendency toward unpredictable change
- fluctuationIrregular change over time
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
unpredictability · market jitters · risk aversion · sell-off · panic selling · flight to safety · correction · turbulence · cautiousness · hesitancy
- restlessnessrestlessness, fidgeting, fidgets, agitation, nervousness
- timiditybashfulness, shyness, timidness, timorousness, meekness
- excitabilityexcitability, nervousness, jitteriness, jumpiness, restlessness
- agitationagitation, anxiety, worry, nervousness, unease
- creepy feelingseeriness, spookiness, creepiness, dread, foreboding
- sensitivitysensitivity, sensitive, hypersensitivity, oversensitivity, hypersensitive
skittishnesscomposure
Emotional self-control
steadiness · calmness · equanimity · serenity · placidity
skittishnesscalmness
Peaceful mental state
stillness · docility · tameness · gentleness · placidness
skittishnessboldness
Fearless readiness to act
fearlessness · confidence · bravery · intrepidity · audacity