as in humbly
in a manner showing no signs of pride or self-assertion
the younger boy, who idolized the older one, would sheepishly follow him around and be at his beck and call
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Recent Examples of sheepishly
Shields, 62, sheepishly joked after two false starts.
—
Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
An engineer with a litter-picker grabbed the fallen cloth and sheepishly moved it behind the machine, out of my line of sight.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 14 Oct. 2025
In Inwood, even a pair of volunteers for Cuomo sheepishly stopped him for selfies.
—Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
Outside the house, Jake finally gets a hold of Anna, and sheepishly threatens to fire her in a way that suggests our guy doesn’t exactly maintain professional boundaries with his attractive young staffers.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
Nick, who was dressed in a crisp two-piece suit and black dress shoes, later emerges from the pool and sheepishly walks over to James to greet her.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
An engineer with a litter-picker grabbed the fallen cloth and sheepishly moved it behind the machine, out of my line of sight.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 14 Oct. 2025
In Inwood, even a pair of volunteers for Cuomo sheepishly stopped him for selfies.
—Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
Outside the house, Jake finally gets a hold of Anna, and sheepishly threatens to fire her in a way that suggests our guy doesn’t exactly maintain professional boundaries with his attractive young staffers.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
Nick, who was dressed in a crisp two-piece suit and black dress shoes, later emerges from the pool and sheepishly walks over to James to greet her.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sheepishly
Adverb
-
Theirs started humbly, and a bit unexpectedly.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Chalamet wore a conservative suit and tie and humbly thanked his fellow nominees, a dramatic shift in tone for the actor, who has tended toward the grandiose of late.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
5 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Ball handlers would dribble close to the basket, only to meekly back away, sensing him looming.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
17 Dec. 2025
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In other words, students prepare for citizenship in a disputatious society by practicing the civic arts—by asserting and advocating for their views—not by meekly absorbing lessons from their instructors.—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
As seen in a video shared to X by Lizzie Robinson of ITV, the Princess of Wales politely said hello to a patient there, asked her name and made the connection between the woman and William, the heir to the throne.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
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Fear, hunger and repression did not stop politely at national borders.—
Philip Martin,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sheepishly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sheepishly. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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