shy
(Informal)
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- timid, bashful, coy, diffident, retiring, self-conscious, self-effacing, shrinking
- cautious, chary, distrustful, hesitant, suspicious, wary
[verb]
Synonyms:
- sometimes with off
or
away: recoil, balk, draw back, flinch, start
————————
[verb]
throw, cast, fling, hurl, pitch, sling, toss

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Antonyms: bold, obtrusive
Contrasted words: brash, forward, aggressive, audacious, intrusive, obtruding, pushing, pushy, blunt, crass, excess, over, surplus
Related Words: backhanded, hesitant, reluctant, conscious, self-conscious, self-distrustful, shamefaced, sheepish, introversive, introvert, introverted, inturned, circumspect, reserved, cautious, chary, suspicious, wary, apprehensive, fearful, nervous, skittish, timorous, blench, quail, recoil, shrink

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English Thesaurus: confident, self-confident/self-assured, supremely self-confident, self-possessed, assertive, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. shy¹ /ʃaɪ/ adjective (comparative shyer, superlative shyest)
[Word Family: verb: shy; noun: shyness; adverb: shyly; adjective: shy]
[Language: Old English; Origin: sceoh]

1. nervous and embarrassed about meeting and speaking to other people, especially people you do not know:
He was a quiet shy man.
shy with
She was very shy with strangers.
a shy smile
As a teenager, I was painfully shy (=extremely shy).
shy to do something
He was too shy to come and sit by me in class.
go all shy British English (=to suddenly become very shy)
Oh, have you gone all shy, Jenny?

2. somebody is not shy about (doing) something used to emphasize that someone is very willing to do something or get involved with something:
John has strong opinions and he’s not shy about sharing them.

3. unwilling to do something or get involved in something
be shy about/of (doing) something
Employees are urged not to be shy about reporting incidents of sexual harassment.

4. be shy (of something) especially American English to have less than a particular amount of something:
The Democrats are three votes shy of a majority.
Jessica died Monday. She was one week shy of her 13th birthday.

5. used to say that someone does not like something and therefore tries to avoid it:
Although publicity-shy, he recently agreed to be interviewed. ⇒ camera-shy, work-shy

6. shy animals get frightened easily and are unwilling to come near people Synonym : timid:
Deer are shy creatures.
—shyly adverb:
He grinned shyly.
—shyness noun [uncountable]:
I overcame my shyness.
⇒ fight shy of (doing) something at fight¹(22), ⇒ once bitten, twice shy at bite¹(14)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. shy² verb (past tense and past participle shied, present participle shying, third person singular shies) [intransitive]
[Word Family: verb: shy; noun: shyness; adverb: shyly; adjective: shy]
if a horse shies, it makes a sudden movement away from something because it is frightened:
The horse shied, throwing Darrel from his saddle.
shy away from something phrasal verb
to avoid doing or dealing with something because you are not confident enough or you are worried or nervous about it:
They criticized the leadership, but shied away from a direct challenge.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. shy³
⇒ coconut shy

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

shy
adj.
VERBS be, feel, look, seem, sound Please don't be shy?I won't eat you!
become, get, go, grow
ADV. desperately, excessively, extremely, painfully, terribly, very As a teenager I was painfully shy.
all She went all shy and hid behind her mother.
almost | a bit, fairly, a little, quite, rather, slightly, somewhat | naturally He is a naturally shy, retiring man.
chronically
PREP. of I was a bit shy of them at first.
with You don't have to be shy with me, you know.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

shy
verb
ADV. violently
PREP. at Her horse shied violently at a gorse bush.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

confident sure that you have the ability to do something well or deal with situations successfully:
She seemed confident that she would pass.
his calm and confident manner
George was very confident about his abilities as a writer.
Baldwin is confident of victory in this year’s senate race.
self-confident/self-assured confident, and not shy or nervous in social situations:
Jess was only 12, but she was very self-confident.
He was very self-assured and spoke without notes.
I eventually became more self-confident as a public speaker.
⇒ supremely self-confident:
She was supremely self-confident, with the gift of being able to talk on any subject whenever the camera was rolling.
self-possessed adjective confident, calm, and in control of your feelings even in a difficult situation
assertive confident enough to say what you think and want, so that people take notice of you:
The course helps women learn how to be more assertive in the workplace.
sure of yourself confident that you are right, even when other people do not agree with you:
He sounded so sure of himself that I didn’t bother to argue.
Jenny was younger than her sister but seemed much more sure of herself.
extrovert noun [countable] someone who behaves in a confident way in social situations and likes talking and being with other people:
Most actors are natural extroverts.
Jan says her twin babies are completely different: Kelly is a real extrovert while Jessie is quiet and thoughtful.
He’s a total extrovert who will talk to any stranger.
lack confidence/be lacking in confidence to not be confident about your abilities or appearance:
Francine is lacking in confidence and needs a lot of encouragement.
I was fat, had no friends, and lacked confidence.
While girls lack confidence, boys often overestimate their abilities.
shy not confident about meeting or speaking to people who you do not know:
Jane is a quiet shy person.
He had been painfully shy (=very shy) as a child.
insecure not confident about yourself or your relationships, especially because you are worried that you are not good enough:
His childhood had left him very insecure.
Ben’s parents’ divorce left him lonely and insecure.
Models can make young women feel insecure about their own bodies.
unsure of yourself not confident, especially because you are young or you do not have much experience:
At first, Chris seemed nervous and unsure of herself.
He was only 21 and still very unsure of himself with girls.
discouraged /dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒd $ -ˈkɜːr-/ not confident that you can succeed, because you have had problems trying to do something:
Students can become discouraged very easily if they are not given the help they need.
I was very discouraged at the time, but I still hoped we could find a solution.
⇒ discouraged by:
Discouraged by her failed marriages, she gradually withdrew from the world.
⇒ discouraged about:
Hartman was so discouraged about the way his performing career was going, that he gave up acting for writing.
demoralized someone who is demoralized has lost all their confidence and wants to give up:
The team were completely demoralized after losing a series of games.
a demoralized work force
Many employees became demoralized and cynical when the company announced another round of job cuts.
⇒ utterly/thoroughly demoralized

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

shy
̈ɪʃaɪ
See: once bitten , twice shy and burnt child dreads the fire

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲