as in shy
not comfortable around people
a sheepish scholar who is most comfortable when surrounded by books
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Recent Examples of sheepish
The Grammy winner made his sheepish confession during an appearance on Brittany Broski's Royal Court on Wednesday.
—
Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Carpenter gets several musical numbers, an obvious but entertaining love triangle with a sheepish Kermit and an incandescently jealous Miss Piggy, and plenty of opportunities for self-aware, PG-13 humor.
—Judy Berman, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Even Eilish, who was 18 at the time, seemed sheepish about the size of her haul that night.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 29 Jan. 2026
If the rookie's intent is to keep playing in order to become more comfortable and get into a groove, that's something he can be commended on, as there are players in the NFL who may become sheepish about starting the week after their first start yields poor individual results.
—Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sheepish
Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Carpenter gets several musical numbers, an obvious but entertaining love triangle with a sheepish Kermit and an incandescently jealous Miss Piggy, and plenty of opportunities for self-aware, PG-13 humor.
—Judy Berman, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Even Eilish, who was 18 at the time, seemed sheepish about the size of her haul that night.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 29 Jan. 2026
If the rookie's intent is to keep playing in order to become more comfortable and get into a groove, that's something he can be commended on, as there are players in the NFL who may become sheepish about starting the week after their first start yields poor individual results.
—Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sheepish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sheepish
Adjective
-
Petco — Shares of the pet retailer dropped roughly 8% after Petco’s current-quarter forecast came in shy of Wall Street’s expectations.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
4 June 2026
-
Though often despised, carp are exceedingly shy and difficult, and great fighters.—
Byron W. Dalrymple,
Outdoor Life,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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Patrick Stewart is also among those to have publicly discussed working with a withdrawn Hardy, who has also starred in The Dark Knight trilogy, Peaky Blinders and the Venom films.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
27 May 2026
-
Read more on the deadly ripple effects of withdrawn aid.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
Brock Purdy isn’t bashful about the 49ers’ potential.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
21 May 2026
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Lennon’s recounting of his and Ono’s meeting at a London show of her work, and of the bashful courtship that followed, is one of the most tender and revealing parts of the interview.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
The lone exception will be Friday night, when the Royals’ game against the Twins in Minneapolis will only be available for viewing on Apple TV.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
1 June 2026
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Less than 20 years ago, Emmy’s top drama and comedy categories were dominated by the four major broadcast networks and one, lone subscription television service, HBO.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sheepish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sheepish. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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