Shy

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English

Adjective

Shy (comparative shier or shyer, superlative shiest or shyest)

  1. Easily frightened; timid.
    a shy bird.
  2. Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
    He is very shy with strangers.
  3. Cautious; wary; suspicious.
  4. Short, insufficient or less than.
    By our count your shipment came up two shy of the bill of lading amount.
    It is just shy of a mile from here to their house.
  5. Embarrassed.

Notes

  • Often used in combination with a noun to produce an adjective or adjectival phrase.
  • Adjectives are usually applicable to animals (leash-shy "shy of leashes" or head shy "shy of contact around the head" (of horses)) or to children.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

terms derived using shy as suffix

Verb

Shy (third-person singular simple present shies, present participle shying, simple past and past participle shied)

  1. (intransitive) To avoid due to timidness or caution.
    I shy away from investment opportunities I don't understand.
  2. (intransitive) To jump back in fear.
    The horse shied away from the rider, which startled him so much he shied away from the horse.
  3. (transitive) to throw a ball or other missile at a target

Noun

Shy (plural shies)
  1. act of throwing
  2. place for throwing
    coconut shy

Derived terms

Adverbs for Shy

awkwardly; uneasily; childishly; self-consciously; timidly; uncomfortably; engagingly; embarrassingly; charmingly; painfully; peculiarly; strangely; unwontedly; becomingly; unnaturally; fearfully; clumsily; foolishly; ridiculously; pitiably; touchingly; adorably; comically; absurdly; exquisitely; habitually; deliciously; extremely; incredibly; oddly; curiously; unnecessarily.

Thesaurus

Pyrrhonic, about the bush, afraid, agnostic, apprehensive, around the bush, arrested, averse, avert, avoid, back down, backhanded, backward, balance, balk, bankrupt in, bare of, bashful, be startled, bear off, beat about, beat around, beg the question, bereft of, bicker, bilk, blench, blink, boggle, boggling, bowl, cagey, callow, cast, cast at, catapult, cautious, cavil, chary, choplogic, chuck, chuck at, chunk, circumspect, confused, conscious, cowardly, coy, cringe, dart, dash, debate, defective, deficient, deliberate, demur, demure, demurring, denuded of, deprived of, destitute of, devoid of, diffident, distrustful, dodge, double, doubtful, doubting, draw aside, draw back, draw in, dubious, duck, ease off, edge off, elude, embryonic, empty of, equivocate, eschew, evade, evade the issue, fade, failing, fall back, falter, faltering, fear, fearful, fearing, fearsome, fence, fight shy, fight shy of, fire, fire at, flinch, fling, fling at, flip, fly off, for want of, fork, forlorn of, from Missouri, gag, gee, glance, glance off, go off, goosy, hang back, hang off, have qualms, haw, head off, heave, heave at, hedge, hem and haw, hesitant, hesitate, hesitating, hold off, hover, hum and haw, hurl, hurl against, hurl at, hurtle, hypoplastic, immature, in arrear, in arrears, in default, in default of, in doubt, in fear, in short supply, in want of, inadequate, inarticulate, incomplete, indisposed, infant, insufficient, introversive, introvert, introverted, jerk, jib, jump, jump a mile, jumpy, lacking, lance, launch, leery, let fly, let fly at, loath, lob, make bones about, make way for, missing, mistrustful, mistrusting, modest, mousy, move aside, mystify, needing, nervous, nitpick, obscure, out of, out of pocket, palter, panic, parry, part, partial, pass, patchy, pause, peg, pelt, pick nits, pitch, pitchfork, ponder, pot, prevaricate, pull away, pull back, pull in, pull out, pussyfoot, put, put off, put the shot, quail, qualmish, questioning, quibble, rabbity, recoil, reel back, reluctant, reserved, retiring, retract, retreat, scant, scant of, scanty, scarce, scary, scrappy, scruple, scrupulous, self-conscious, self-distrustful, self-effacing, serve, shaky, shamefaced, shamefast, sheepish, sheer off, shift, shift off, shilly-shally, shivery, short, short of, shove aside, shrink, shrink back, shrinking, shuffle, shun, shunt, shy at, shy away, shy of, shy off, side, sidestep, sideswipe, sidetrack, sidle, skedaddle, skeptical, sketchy, skittery, skittish, sling, sling at, snap, split hairs, squeamish, stammering, stampede, start, start aside, start back, startle, startlish, steer clear of, step aside, stick, stick at, stickle, stickling, stop to consider, straddle the fence, strain, strain at, stumble, suspecting, suspicious, swerve, switch, tergiversate, think twice about, throw, throw at, tilt, timid, timorous, toss, toss at, trembling, tremulous, trepidant, trigger-happy, turn aside, turn away, turn back, unassertive, unassured, unblessed with, uncertain, underdeveloped, undeveloped, uneager, unpossessed of, untrusting, unwilling, veer off, void of, wanting, ward off, wary, waver, weasel, weasel out, wince, withdraw, yield

Etymology

From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-Germanic *skiuhwaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”).

Pronunciation

Translations

Adjective

easily frightened
reserved
cautious
short, less than
embarrassed
The translations below need to be checked.
Translations to be checked

Verb

to avoid due to timidness or caution — see shy away
to jump back in fear
to throw a ball
The translations below need to be checked.
Translations to be checked

Noun

act of throwing
place for throwing
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