as in bashfulness
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for sheepishness
Noun
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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
Noun
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As Michael, a bathroom and kitchen fixture wholesaler, Dan Donohue’s performance is riveting in its expansion from awkward diffidence to unbridled savagery while revealing his inner core.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
2 Feb. 2026
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And that eye could see past Dorothy’s drab uniform and Cindy Brady pigtails, her tall girl’s diffidence and her sweet girl’s shyness, to the bombshell smoldering underneath.—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But German timidity before Israel’s moral blackmail only partly explains Habermas’s callous attitude toward the country’s Palestinian victims.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Even in the face of Hollywood’s timidity, some American independent animators have managed to push their offbeat visions through as features made with limited resources.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But shyness and cluelessness kept me from making my rendezvous with the guy that was to aid in that connection.—
Jody Mamone,
Hartford Courant,
16 Mar. 2026
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His quiet tone is not shyness or false modesty but circumspection and a sense of boundaries that imply respect and love for real communication.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This is a story that traces the path to justice for mass atrocity in the face of public acquiescence.—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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Kelley, Offerman, Fanning, and especially Pfeiffer do enough of the hard work to make acquiescence rather easy — and the ensuing journey a worthy reward.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The case has sparked a broader conversation about the military’s use of artificial intelligence in weapons systems and the level of deference AI companies should give to the government in how their technology is used.—
Mike Brest,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
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The largely partisan vote, 54-45, on March 23 was a break from precedent, as senators of both parties have in the past shown at least some deference to their colleagues in the legislative chamber to support nominees for Cabinet positions.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
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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
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His passivity in situations that would enrage most people to the point of action is frustrating.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
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Seeking copper wire, preparing a poultice, pouring a bath — these turn passivity into agency.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Sheepishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sheepishness. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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