trepidatious
adjEtymology From, or as if, trepidate + -ious; see trepidation for more.
1
In a state of trepidation; fearful.
- Hilda looked up from the papers she had been busy with as he entered -- in fact, made a guilty and trepdatious attempt at sweeping them out of sight, which suggested a weakness entirely foreign to her.1904, Bertram Mitford, The Sirdar's Oath, F. V. White:
- He looks a little trepidatious too, and we both laugh awkwardly as he nears me.2020, Sophie Kinsella, Love Your Life, Dial Press, →ISBN:
1 more example
- Factor in Grammer’s outspoken Trumpism, which complicates the legacy of his defining role, and fans may be forgiven for feeling trepidatious.2023 February 27, Elle Hunt, “‘Don’t make Frasier best friends with Elon Musk!’ Writers and comics offer their reboot tips”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- Derived terms
- trepidatiously, trepidatiousness