squeam·ish

[skwee-mish]
adjective
1.
fastidious or dainty.
2.
easily shocked by anything slightly immodest; prudish.
3.
excessively particular or scrupulous as to the moral aspect of things.
4.
easily nauseated or disgusted: to get squeamish at the sight of blood.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English squemish, alteration (conformed to -ish1) of squemes, squaymes, alteration of squaymous < Anglo-French escoymous; ulterior origin uncertain

squeam·ish·ly, adverb
squeam·ish·ness, noun
o·ver·squeam·ish, adjective
o·ver·squeam·ish·ly, adverb
o·ver·squeam·ish·ness, noun
un·squeam·ish, adjective
un·squeam·ish·ly, adverb
un·squeam·ish·ness, noun


1. modest. 3. finical, finicky, delicate, exacting.


1–3. bold.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To squeamish
00:10
Squeamish is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Collins
World English Dictionary
squeamish (ˈskwiːmɪʃ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  easily sickened or nauseated, as by the sight of blood
2.  easily shocked; fastidious or prudish
3.  easily frightened: squeamish about spiders
 
[C15: from Anglo-French escoymous, of unknown origin]
 
'squeamishly
 
adv
 
'squeamishness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

squeamish
mid-15c., variant of squoymous "disdainful, fastidious" (c.1300), from Anglo-Fr. *escoymous, which is of unknown origin.
"He was somdel squaymous
Of fartyng, and of speche daungerous"
[Chaucer, "Miller's Tale," c.1386]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
My inner pragmatist says politicians shouldn't be too squeamish about using bad
  economics in a good economic cause.
And then again they might not want to see it, if they are squeamish and
  couldn't look at it.
Bernie is known to be squeamish about the sight of blood.
Definitely not for the squeamish, this horrifying drama contains nudity as well
  as violence.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT