as in wary
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Recent Examples of gun-shy
The pressure from both the U.S. and China has seemingly made Panama more gun-shy about those ports shifting hands, with numerous officials putting CK Hutchison’s partnership with the Panamanian government under scrutiny.
—
Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 13 Aug. 2025
The writers gave The X-Files an award back in 1996 when the overall Academy was gun-shy about voting for it in Outstanding Drama.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2025
Underneath the puns and pumps was a dress-down of the rom-com that ultimately told the story of a woman who fell in love, came out worse, and became gun-shy.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 30 May 2025
Major studios have grown gun-shy about funding anything remotely risky; even a risk well taken can prompt a knee-jerk, scornful reaction from not only the executives but also the press: The film could, even should, have done better.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2025
Nintendo has been famously gun-shy of live-action adaptations — or adaptations in general — after the abysmal 1993 Super Mario Bros. film tanked.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2025
But that ending has yet to be printed: in a documentary climate in which corporations are growing increasingly gun-shy, The Stringer does not yet have a distributor.
—Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025
Harris dropped out of the 2020 presidential race early (followed later by her fellow female candidates, senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren), and some pundits speculated that Democratic primary voters were gun-shy of nominating another woman after Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 21 July 2024
The Price of Entry Apart from elevated risks, there are several other reasons why international firms are likely to remain gun-shy about India.
—Arvind Subramanian, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2022
Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 13 Aug. 2025
The writers gave The X-Files an award back in 1996 when the overall Academy was gun-shy about voting for it in Outstanding Drama.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2025
Underneath the puns and pumps was a dress-down of the rom-com that ultimately told the story of a woman who fell in love, came out worse, and became gun-shy.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 30 May 2025
Major studios have grown gun-shy about funding anything remotely risky; even a risk well taken can prompt a knee-jerk, scornful reaction from not only the executives but also the press: The film could, even should, have done better.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2025
Nintendo has been famously gun-shy of live-action adaptations — or adaptations in general — after the abysmal 1993 Super Mario Bros. film tanked.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2025
But that ending has yet to be printed: in a documentary climate in which corporations are growing increasingly gun-shy, The Stringer does not yet have a distributor.
—Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025
Harris dropped out of the 2020 presidential race early (followed later by her fellow female candidates, senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren), and some pundits speculated that Democratic primary voters were gun-shy of nominating another woman after Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 21 July 2024
The Price of Entry Apart from elevated risks, there are several other reasons why international firms are likely to remain gun-shy about India.
—Arvind Subramanian, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gun-shy
Adjective
-
Other than in the Second Circuit, the federal courts of appeals generally have interpreted the Confrontation Clause to require face-to-face cross examination, and counsel should be wary of giving up that important right.—
Robert Anello,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
For decades, educators have been wary of the decline in critical thinking and its impact on undermining the very purpose of education.—
Sixteen Ramos,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Studios still leery In many ways, television is where the real breakthroughs have happened and continue to happen.—
Scott Malia,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
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The farmer who does farm tomatoes, and leased that field from Tibbitts, however, is leery of making beds for his tomatoes in October after water covered the soil for more than a month.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Employers increasingly wonder whether campuses are cultivating independent thinkers or just cautious followers.—
Sarah Hernholm,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The sum dwarfs most acquisitions this year — and marks TIFF’s first eight-figure deal in several editions — underlining the resilience of genre cinema at a time when studios and streamers alike are cautious.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But Eliasen is careful not to let scope creep derail initial implementations.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Gurrola’s parents were skeptical at first, but the store’s Dubai chocolate strawberry cups have sold well.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
15 Sep. 2025
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The move, however, would need a constitutional amendment approved by 60 percent of voters—and some experts are skeptical of how the state's local governments would manage without property taxes.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
A number of recent polls found that a majority of voters across parties are distrustful of gerrymandering but are becoming more open to their states going forward with it amid the ongoing redistricting arms race.—
Julia Manchester,
The Hill,
4 Sep. 2025
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Having so many new designers debut at once may actually confuse further an increasingly distrustful client and redirect them toward all-time safe fashion investment purchases.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Caption with Intention has been a project in the pipeline since 2019 under the watchful eye of Bruno Mazzotti, an Executive Creative Director at FCB Chicago who, having grown up in Brazil with two deaf parents, identifies as a real-life CODA as in the 2022 Oscar-winning film of the same title.—
Gus Alexiou,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Nine other members of the American team are there, under the watchful eye of Bradley and his vice-captains.—
Julio Cesar Valdera Morales,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Though there were some reasons for optimism in Kohl’s report on Wednesday—comparable sales were unchanged in July—the Kohl’s saga remains a show-me story.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
27 Aug. 2025
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Goldman downgraded the Club stock to hold from buy, saying this is now a show-me story.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
30 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gun-shy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gun-shy. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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