shy

shy

adjective

Definition of SHY

1

easily frightened <a shy cat who hid under the bed every time she heard any loud noise>

Synonyms fainthearted, fearful, fearsome, mousy (or mousey), scary, skittish, timid, timorous, tremulous

Related Words chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, cowardly, craven, dastardly, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered [archaic], poltroon, pusillanimous, spineless, unheroic, yellow; jittery, jumpy, spooky; anxious, apprehensive, nervous; afraid, alarmed, horrified, panicked, panicky, panic-stricken, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, unnerved

Near Antonyms brave, courageous, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, undaunted, valiant, valorous; assured, confident, self-assured, self-confident; determined, firm, game, plucky, resolute, undeterred, unflinching, unswerving; mettlesome, spirited, spunky

Antonyms adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, bold, daring, dashing, gutsy, hardy, venturesome, venturous

2

not comfortable around people <a shy person who finds talking to anyone but a close friend to be an awkward and unpleasant experience>

Synonyms backward, bashful, coy, demure, diffident, introverted, modest, recessive, retiring, self-effacing, sheepish, withdrawn

Related Words antisocial, lone, lone-wolf, unsociable, unsocial; awkward, embarrassed, self-conscious, unadventurous, unassertive, unenterprising; inhibited, reserved, uneasy, uptight

Near Antonyms boon, clubbable (also clubable), companionable, convivial, gregarious, sociable, social; bold, dashing, forceful; brash, forward, overbold, uninhibited, unreserved

Antonyms extroverted (also extraverted), immodest, outgoing

3

not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need <the team is shy a couple of players because of illness>

Synonyms deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, low, scarce, shy, wanting

Related Words substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory; hand-to-mouth, lean, light, meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy; bare, mere, minimum; slight, small

Near Antonyms abundant, ample, bounteous, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful, plentitudinous; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; abounding, overflowing, teeming; satisfactory, tolerable; lavish, luxuriant, rich; big, considerable, hefty, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, super

Antonyms adequate, enough, sufficient

4

not respectable <she was nervous about being left alone in a shy bar in a bad section of town>

Synonyms discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, ignominious, infamous, louche, notorious, opprobrious, shady, shameful, shoddy, shy, unrespectable

Related Words bad, criminal, immoral, seamy, sordid, unethical, unsavory, wicked; base, contemptible, despicable, detestable, dirty, low, mean, miserable, vile, wretched; black, evil, iniquitous, nefarious, rotten, sinful, unrighteous, vicious, villainous, wrong; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, inglorious, reprehensible; corrupt, debased, debauched, degenerate, depraved, dissolute, gamy (or gamey), libertine, loose, perverted, reprobate

Near Antonyms decent, ethical, good, honest, just, moral, noble, principled, righteous, upright, upstanding; esteemed, prestigious, reputed, respected; authorized, legal, licensed, permissible, permitted; approved, endorsed (also indorsed), sanctioned; clean, correct, decorous, exemplary, proper, seemly; blameless, commendable, creditable, guiltless

Antonyms honorable, reputable, respectable