shies

verb

present tense third-person singular of shy
as in recoils

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shies
  1. recoils
  2. flinches
  3. winces
  4. shrinks
Verb
  • Something in the liberal heart recoils in the face of righteous ruthlessness.
    — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Looking through scans from his first VIBE story from back in 2012, Rocky laughs at first, then immediately recoils.
    — Jeff Ihaza, VIBE.com, 2 June 2026
Definition of recoils
Verb
  • Warner flinches not about a birthday that is often associated with the beginning of decline.
    — Dan Pompei, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • Advertisement Throughout the narrative, Johnson never flinches in his portrayal of the wreck, unleashing footage of investigators approaching the car and the victims’ families.
    — Jake King-Schreifels, Time, 15 May 2026
Definition of flinches
Verb
  • Today, hardly anyone winces at its many iterations, from teeny-weeny bikini to the tankini in dots large or small.
    — Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 24 July 2026
  • The slot formerly occupied by Milli Vanilli will be taken by a dog whistle, being blown into the microphone very loudly so that everyone winces and covers their ears.
    — Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
Definition of winces
Verb
  • Miglietta explained that the jellyfish appears to be dying and sinks to the bottom, then, like a butterfly turning back into a caterpillar, shrinks into a ball.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Vendors also need operators to install their future, which means convincing customers to adopt a model that shrinks them.
    — Jessica Beck, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of shrinks
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.

Browse Nearby Words

shields
shies
shies (from or away from)
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Cite this Entry

“Shies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shies. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of shies for Spanish Speakers

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