- 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 One who is shy draws back from others, either because of a withdrawn nature or out of timidity: “The poor man was shy and hated society” (George Bernard Shaw).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.]
