shy
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(shī) 
adj., shi·er (shī'ər), or shy·er, shi·est (shī'ĭst), or shy·est.
A sudden movement, as from fright; a start.
shyly shy'ly adv.
shyness shy'ness n.
shy2 (shī)
v., shied (shīd), shy·ing, shies (shīz). v.tr.
To throw (something) with a swift motion; fling.
v.intr.
To throw something with a swift motion.
n., pl., shies (shīz).
adj., shi·er (shī'ər), or shy·er, shi·est (shī'ĭst), or shy·est.
- Easily startled; timid.
- Drawing back from contact or familiarity with others; retiring or reserved.
- Marked by reserve or diffidence: a shy glance.
- Distrustful; wary: shy of strangers.
- Not having paid an amount due, as one's ante in poker.
- Short; lacking: Eleven is one shy of a dozen.
- To move suddenly, as if startled; start.
- To draw back, as from fear or caution; recoil.
A sudden movement, as from fright; a start.
[Middle English schey, from Old English scēoh.]
shyer shy'er n.shyly shy'ly adv.
shyness shy'ness n.
SYNONYMS shy, bashful, diffident, modest, coy, demure. These adjectives mean not forward but marked by a retiring nature, reticence, or a reserve of manner. One who is shy draws back from others, either because of a withdrawn nature or out of timidity: "The poor man was shy and hated society" (George Bernard Shaw). Bashful suggests self-consciousness or awkwardness in the presence of others: "I never laughed, being bashful./Lowering my head, I looked at the wall" (Ezra Pound). Diffident implies lack of self-confidence: He was too diffident to express his opinion. Modest is associated with an unassertive nature and absence of vanity or pretension: Despite her fame she remained a modest, unassuming person. Coy usually implies feigned, often flirtatious shyness: "yielded with coy submission" (John Milton). Demure often denotes an affected shyness or modesty: Her assistant nodded in agreement, flashing a demure smile.
shy2 (shī)
v., shied (shīd), shy·ing, shies (shīz). v.tr.
To throw (something) with a swift motion; fling.
v.intr.
To throw something with a swift motion.
n., pl., shies (shīz).
- A quick throw; a fling.
- Informal. A gibe; a sneer.
- Informal. An attempt; a try.
[Perhaps from SHY1.]
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shy
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Roget's Thesaurus:
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shy1
adjective
- Not forward but reticent or reserved in manner: backward, bashful, coy, demure, diffident, modest, retiring, self-effacing, timid. See restraint/unrestraint.
- Not enough to meet a demand or requirement: deficient, inadequate, insufficient, scarce, short, under, wanting. See big/small/amount, excess/insufficiency/enough.
verb
- To draw away involuntarily, usually out of fear or disgust: blench1, cringe, flinch, quail, recoil, shrink, start, wince. See approach/retreat, seek/avoid.
verb
- To send through the air with a motion of the hand or arm: cast, dart, dash, fling, heave, hurl, hurtle, launch, pitch, shoot, sling, throw, toss. Informal fire. See move/halt.
noun
Idioms beginning with shy:
shy away from
In addition to the idiom beginning with shy, also see bricks shy of a load; fight shy of; once bitten, twice shy.
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adj
Definition: lacking, failing
Antonyms: adequate, enough, sufficient
adj
Definition: quiet and self-conscious
Antonyms: bold, brash, confident, extroverted, unashamed, unreserved, unshy
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shy
IN BRIEF: Timid, afraid of people.
To be shy is to deprive people of getting to know you.
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
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sign description: The index finger pokes in the side of the neck and twists.
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Taking fright easily; said of horses that are startled easily and inclined to take a great leap sideways or to bolt with little provocation.
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'shy'
See crossword solutions for the clue Translations:
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Shy
Dansk (Danish)
1.
adj. - sky, genert, forlegen, undselig, tilbageholdende
v. intr. - vige tilbage, stejle, blive sky
n. - stejlen, kast, pludseligt sæt
idioms:
- shy away from vige tilbage fra, stejle ved tanken om
2.
v. tr. - kaste, smide, skræmme
v. intr. - vige tilbage
n. - kast
Nederlands (Dutch)
verlegen, voorzichtig, gooi, plotselinge beweging, terugschrikken, werpen, te kort afgewezen en vervolgens niet meer durven, niet weer willen na slechte ervaring
Français (French)
1.
adj. - timide, farouche, fuyant, (US) manquant
v. intr. - faire un écart (devant)
n. - écart, mouvement brusque
idioms:
- shy away from se tenir à l'écart de
2.
v. tr. - jeter qch à
v. intr. - jeter qch à
n. - jet, coup
Deutsch (German)
1.
adj. - schüchtern, scheu
v. - scheuen
n. - Scheuen
idioms:
- shy away from vor etwas scheuen
2.
v. - werfen
n. - Wurf
Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - ντροπαλός, συνεσταλμένος, επιφυλακτικός, καχύποπτος
v. - διστάζω, κωλώνω, σκιάζομαι, ρίχνω, εκσφενδονίζω
n. - εκσφενδόνιση, ρίψη, απόπειρα, τόλμημα, υπαινιγμός, μπηχτή
idioms:
- shy away from διστάζω να εμπλακώ
Italiano (Italian)
getto, scarto (di cavallo), timido, diffidente
idioms:
- once bitten, twice shy chi si è scottato teme l'acqua calda
- shy away from evitare di
Português (Portuguese)
adj. - tímido, arredio, hesitante, pouco produtivo, mal provido
v. - assustar-se, recuar
n. - susto (m), arremesso (m) de pedra, sarcasmo (coloq.m)
idioms:
- shy away from afastar-se assustado
Русский (Russian)
застенчивый, пугливый, нерешительный, недоверчивый, недостающий, отступать, пугаться, сторониться, вспугивать, отпугивать, бросаться, бросать, скачок, бросок, резкий выпад, мишень для насмешек, попытка
idioms:
- once bitten, twice shy обжегшись на молоке, дуть на воду
- shy away from избегать
Español (Spanish)
1.
adj. - tímido, vergonzoso, asustadizo
v. intr. - moverse rápidamente
n. - movimiento rápido
idioms:
- shy away from negarse a
2.
v. tr. - lanzar, arrojar
v. intr. - hacerse a un lado, retroceder, dar una huida, respingar
n. - tiro, lanzamiento
Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - blyg, skygg, folkskygg, tillbakadragen, rädd, misstänksam, ängslig, tveksam, försiktig, skum
v. - skygga, rygga tillbaka, slänga, kasta
n. - kast, försök, skyggning
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 怕羞的, 害羞的, 畏缩的, 惊退, 厌恶, 畏缩, 胆怯, 回避
idioms:
- shy away from 回避, 避开, 躲开
2. 乱投, 乱掷, 投, 扔, 投掷, 讥刺, 抨击, 尝试
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
v. tr. - 亂投, 亂擲
v. intr. - 投, 扔
n. - 投擲, 譏刺, 抨擊, 嘗試
2.
adj. - 怕羞的, 害羞的, 畏縮的
v. intr. - 驚退, 厭惡, 畏縮, 膽怯, 回避
n. - 驚退
idioms:
- shy away from 迴避, 避開, 躲開
한국어 (Korean)
1.
adj. - 부끄럼 타는, 부족하여, 의심이 많은
v. intr. - (말이 놀라서) 뒷걸음질 치다, 기가 꺾이다, 겁내다
n. - (말의) 뒷걸음질, 뒤로 물러섬
2.
v. tr. - 던지다, 내던지다
v. intr. - 던지다, 내던지다
n. - 던지기, 조롱, 시도
日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 恥ずかしがりの, 恥ずかしそうな, おく病な, 足りない, 警戒する, はにかみ屋の
n. - 投げること, 試み
v. - おびえて飛びのく, しり込みする, す早く投げる
idioms:
- shy away from しりごみする
العربيه (Arabic)
(صفه) جبان, خجول (فعل) ينفر من, يجفل, يقذف (الاسم) تجربه, قذف, أجفال
עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ביישן, פחדן, חשדן, זהיר, חסר, נרתע
v. intr. - נרתע, התחלחל, נסוג, פנה הצידה
n. - רתיעה, תנועה פתאומית, נסיגה
v. tr. - הטיל, השליך
v. intr. - הטיל, השליך
n. - הטלה, השלכה, זריקה, ניסיון
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