skittishly

adverb

1
as in agitatedly

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2
as in playfully

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of skittishly The horse, not sensing any guidance on its ribcage, begins to move skittishly in tight, concentric circles. — Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026 While skittishly edited, the film nevertheless builds up Faithfull’s biography in basic chronological order. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skittishly
  1. desperately
  2. playfully
  3. uncontrollably
  4. buoyantly
  5. frantically
  6. animatedly
  7. crazily
  8. briskly
Adverb
  • Designated for assignment by the Phillies, Wilson was claimed by the Cubs, who desperately needed bullpen depth.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • New York desperately needs housing and Aqueduct must be a major part of the answer.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 29 June 2026
Definition of desperately
Adverb
  • In a video posted on social media warning New Yorkers about an ongoing heat wave, Mamdani playfully referenced the event.
    — Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
  • His employees had posed playfully for photos over the body of a woman who had died by suicide.
    — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 30 June 2026
Definition of playfully
Adverb
  • Hydroplaning is the term for when a vehicle begins sliding uncontrollably on wet roads.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 1 July 2026
  • Back in their dorm room after the beating, Valentine watched as Okeadu began to tremble uncontrollably.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of uncontrollably
Adverb
  • The song's interplay between choir and orchestra is buoyantly euphoric, opening a door to bolder, more intentionally progressive and soulful sounds in the country's mainstream.
    — Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 May 2025
Definition of buoyantly
Adverb
  • Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.
    — Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • For five days Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez has been frantically searching for her son across hospitals in La Guaira and Caracas.
    — Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 29 June 2026
Definition of frantically
Adverb
  • Alqasimi speaks animatedly about Alfred Hitchcock’s framing techniques in midcentury films like Rear Window and Rope, and the idea of withholding a complete view in order to sustain curiosity.
    — Mona Basharat, Architectural Digest, 25 June 2026
  • Last season Hustus handled more than 16,000 lobsters all while chatting animatedly with visitors from around the world—and often introducing them to their first tastes of lobster.
    — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 2026
Definition of animatedly
Adverb
  • And when Andreeva hits one of her crazily creative shots and turns to Martínez for praise, she is met with a smile, and maybe some clapping.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 4 June 2026
  • The scene used one of the film’s funniest visual gags, an apartment so crazily tilted that nobody inside it could stand up straight.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
Definition of crazily
Adverb
  • The cool quietude of Simón’s film—scene after scene is gently controlled and briskly observed—gives way just as suddenly to unruly gusts of feeling.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 June 2026
  • Obama briskly entered and immediately apologized for tardiness.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026
Definition of briskly

Browse Nearby Words

skittish
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Cite this Entry

“Skittishly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittishly. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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