| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| |
| shy1 |
| |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  sh |
| ADJECTIVE: | Inflected forms: shi·er ( sh  r) or shy·er, shi·est ( sh st) or shy·est
1. Easily startled; timid. 2a. Drawing back from contact or familiarity with others; retiring or reserved. b. Marked by reserve or diffidence: a shy glance. 3. Distrustful; wary: shy of strangers. 4. Not having paid an amount due, as one's ante in poker. 5. Short; lacking: Eleven is one shy of a dozen. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: shied ( shd), shy·ing, shies ( shz)
1. To move suddenly, as if startled; start. 2. To draw back, as from fear or caution; recoil. | | NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. shies ( shz)
A sudden movement, as from fright; a start. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English schey, from Old English sc oh. | | OTHER FORMS: | shyer —NOUN
shyly —ADVERB
shyness —NOUN
| | SYNONYMS: | shy1, 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 One who is shy draws back from others, either because of a withdrawn nature or out of timidity: “The poor man was shy and hated society” (George Bernard Shaw).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.
| | |
| |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
