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sheepishness

noun

as in bashfulness

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sheepishness Still, his courtiers seemed to be encouraging him to lean into sheepishness. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sheepishness
  1. bashfulness
  2. diffidence
  3. timidity
  4. timidness
  5. shyness
  6. acquiescence
  7. deference
  8. submissiveness
Noun
  • Her skin—something known as Frubber, a porous patented blend of fleshlike elastic polymers—stretched over a structure of plastic and titanium, and there was no flicker of bashfulness.
    — Dan Turello, New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2026
Definition of bashfulness
Noun
  • Our pro bono military operations have been conducted with noticeable diffidence.
    — Robert Stone, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Celik seems attuned to such questions as a valid (if not necessarily revelatory) core for a play to circle around, but Cramer’s writing often feels caught between an exploration of comic diffidence and simply an expression of it.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
Definition of diffidence
Noun
  • The complaint of timidity could be read as a criticism of 79-year-old Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Education and Workforce Committee and panel’s chair when the party was in the majority.
    — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 6 Sep. 2026
  • My mother was never one for parting phrases, mainly because she was overwhelmed by a form of timidity that verged on self-erasure.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of timidity
Noun
  • Never a forward accused of timidness, his offside restraint is not down to any reluctance to make surging runs in behind.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 24 June 2026
  • The Denver Post editorial is a master class in timidness and in saying nothing of import.
    — DP Opinion, Denver Post, 20 May 2026
Definition of timidness
Noun
  • Instead of focusing on adventurous missions like PAW Patrol, Super Monsters emphasizes the more emotional aspects of childhood, like overcoming shyness, being a good friend, and learning from your mistakes.
    — Kara Nesvig, Parents, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Prince George seems to have inherited Princess Diana’s endearing shyness.
    — Christina Perrier, InStyle, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of shyness
Noun
  • But many assumptions that Stratos’ investors or Utah politicians might have had about Box Elder County – about either the acquiescence of its people or the barrenness of its landscape – have been proved wrong over the past few months.
    — Melanie Stetson Freeman, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Oil has long funded the Gulf’s expensive social contract, in which governments provide citizens with cushy jobs and high-quality services in return for political acquiescence.
    — Dina Esfandiary, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of acquiescence
Noun
  • The Fiorentino family has overseen meticulous renovations that restored their shine with faithful deference to its old-world elegance.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026
  • For journalists, practicing deference and yielding authority are necessary steps when repairing relationships in communities that have experienced historical harm.
    — Danielle K. Brown, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of deference
Noun
  • Attraction is a function of parentage and looks and submissiveness.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 May 2026
  • But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.
    — Dan Pompei, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
Definition of submissiveness

Browse Nearby Words

sheepishly
sheepishness
sheepskin
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Cite this Entry

“Sheepishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sheepishness. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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