sheepishness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sheepishness
Noun
  • Scott was completing a yearlong master’s program in mathematics, and Noone, a doctoral candidate five years his senior, was charmed by the contrast between his good looks and his diffidence.
    Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
  • And has done so with the kind of diffidence that can only come from a lifetime in the sports backwaters.
    Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The timidity of the tactics was utterly shameful.
    Steve Madeley, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Indulgence can tip over into self-indulgence all too easily; holding back can result in a timidity that makes a song sound at odds with its subject.
    Maura Johnston, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Chambers, meanwhile, is leaning into shyness on this album cycle by frequently covering her face in photos.
    Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
  • This can range from occasional nerves and shyness to paralyzing fears of social situations and people.
    Sarah Scott, Parents, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Supreme Court has seen this before The ruling in Harvard’s favor follows a long legal tradition of Supreme Court rulings that bar the government from demanding ideological acquiescence in exchange for support.
    Stephanie A, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Yet, the lesson of the Voting Rights Act is that the response to these setbacks isn’t despair or acquiescence.
    Time, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Mamdani tends to focus on Israel’s violations of international law, which are the basis of his pledge to arrest Netanyahu, in deference to a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, if Netanyahu comes to New York.
    Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
  • The judges also noted that the law grants deference to the president in determining when troop deployments are necessary to protect federal agents and property.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In Killers of the Flower Moon, his Ernest Burkhart starts off as a mopey, weak-minded World War One veteran, eager to do anything for his godfather uncle (Robert De Niro), but there’s still a certain likability to his dim-bulb submissiveness.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Think movement rather than stagnation, discussion rather than passivity.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
  • While some of the explanation for the result lies in Aston Villa’s strange passivity, Sunderland’s attitude to losing Reinildo and then going behind to Matty Cash’s 67th-minute long-range shot delighted Le Bris and the home support.
    Michael Walker, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Higher long-term bond yields, meanwhile, suggest investor wariness over governments’ balance sheets.
    Ben Smith, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Reporting to David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount, Weiss is under a heavy level of scrutiny in her initial days, as there has been a level of wariness among a number of staffers given her background as an opinion writer and lack of experience in broadcast TV and its emphasis on breaking news.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Sheepishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sheepishness. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

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