Crossword clues for squeamish
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Squeamish \Squeam"ish\ (skw[=e]m"[i^]sh), a. [OE. squaimous, sweymous, probably from OE. sweem, swem, dizziness, a swimming in the head; cf. Icel. sveimr a bustle, a stir, Norw. sveim a hovering about, a sickness that comes upon one, Icel. svimi a giddiness, AS. sw[=i]ma. The word has been perhaps confused with qualmish. Cf. Swim to be dizzy.] Having a stomach that is easily turned or nauseated; hence, nice to excess in taste; fastidious; easily disgusted; apt to be offended at trifling improprieties.
Quoth he, that honor's very squeamish
That takes a basting for a blemish.
--Hudibras.
His muse is rustic, and perhaps too plain
The men of squeamish taste to entertain.
--Southern.
So ye grow squeamish, Gods, and sniff at heaven.
--M.
Arnold.
Syn: Fastidious; dainty; overnice; scrupulous. See Fastidious. [1913 Webster] -- Squeam"ish*ly, adv. -- Squeam"ish*ness, n.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
late 14c., variant (with -ish) of squoymous "disdainful, fastidious" (early 14c.), from Anglo-French escoymous, which is of unknown origin. Related: Squeamishly; squeamishness.\n\nHe was somdel squaymous\n
Of fartyng, and of speche daungerous\n
[Chaucer, "Miller's Tale," c.1386]
Wiktionary
a. easily bothered or upset; tending to be nauseated or nervous
WordNet
Usage examples of "squeamish".
Donnegan was not a squeamish sort, but the fat, smiling face of Macon filled him with unutterable aversion.
Cornelius Gherson was fascinated by the spectacle, not at all squeamish about the pain being visited on his messmate, even a little disappointed that there was not more in the way of gore.
Some notorious carpers and squeamish moralists might be sulky with Lord Steyne, but they were glad enough to come when he asked them.
Yet, while Towser may be distasteful to certain squeamish readers, he serves well as a foil for the human in the story.
Colonel Tark were loyal but squeamish sometimes, and torture had never really been part of the Royal Chargers, a unit founded on more lofty stuff.
She could skin rabbits, strangle chickens, shoot pheasants, aid the birth of lambs and perform many tasks which would show me up as hopelessly incompetent, not to say, squeamish.
It was true that you did see signs of uniformity (one nation), all the people wearing off-white smocks and pink, gymkhana-sized rosettes, like that family over there, four of them, in perfect-family formation, man and woman and boy and girl, each with the squeamish smile of the future .
That lady is more mighty than dainty, she is no way squeamish, she devours all and is ready for all, and fills her alforjas with people of all sorts, ages, and ranks.
The first was the capacity for immediate and massive violence the Russian mafia demonstrated if it was frustrated in any way, a violence that would have made the American Cosa Nostra look positively squeamish.
Morgause had made some such jest at Arthur's crowning, saying Morgaine was as squeamish with her food as a breeding woman.
Her face was screwed up like that of a squeamish maiden lady forcing herself to deal with a dead and mangled mouse.
In my opinion, it was more likely that Lesy and the others were squeamish about taking in so much nonsapient mass.
I never liked it, and since the strange case of the man in lower ten, I have been a bit squeamish.
Things did get a little ugly in that department, but after reflection I don't think I'll be any more specific-except to note that, having completed toilet training only a short time earlier, Erin was much less squeamish about such matters than a grown-up in her undignified position might have been.
It was, of course, cruel abuse of the vintage port, but one must not be squeamish about such things.