shy

1 easily frightened a shy cat who hid under the bed every time she heard any loud noise Synonyms fainthearted, fearful, fearsome, mousy (or mousey), scary, skittish, timid, timorous, tremulous Related Words chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, cowardly, craven, dastardly, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered [archaic], poltroon, pusillanimous, spineless, unheroic, yellow; jittery, jumpy, spooky; anxious, apprehensive, nervous; afraid, alarmed, horrified, panicked, panicky, panic-stricken, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, unnerved Near Antonyms brave, courageous, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, undaunted, valiant, valorous; assured, confident, self-assured, self-confident; determined, firm, game, plucky, resolute, undeterred, unflinching, unswerving; mettlesome, spirited, spunky Antonyms adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, bold, daring, dashing, gutsy, hardy, venturesome, venturous

2 not comfortable around people a shy person who finds talking to anyone but a close friend to be an awkward and unpleasant experience Synonyms backward, bashful, coy, demure, diffident, introverted, modest, recessive, retiring, self-effacing, sheepish, withdrawn Related Words antisocial, lone, lone-wolf, unsociable, unsocial; awkward, embarrassed, self-conscious, unadventurous, unassertive, unenterprising; inhibited, reserved, uneasy, uptight Near Antonyms boon, clubbable (also clubable), companionable, convivial, gregarious, sociable, social; bold, dashing, forceful; brash, forward, overbold, uninhibited, unreserved Antonyms extroverted (also extraverted), immodest, outgoing

3 not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need the team is shy a couple of players because of illness Synonyms deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, low, scarce, short, wantingRelated Words substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory; hand-to-mouth, lean, light, meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy; bare, mere, minimum; slight, smallNear Antonyms abundant, ample, bounteous, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful, plentitudinous; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; abounding, overflowing, teeming; satisfactory, tolerable; lavish, luxuriant, rich; big, considerable, hefty, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, superAntonyms adequate, enough, sufficient

4 not respectable she was nervous about being left alone in a shy bar in a bad section of town Synonyms discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, ignominious, infamous, louche, notorious, opprobrious, shady, shameful, shoddy, disreputable, unrespectableRelated Words bad, criminal, immoral, seamy, sordid, unethical, unsavory, wicked; base, contemptible, despicable, detestable, dirty, low, mean, miserable, vile, wretched; black, evil, iniquitous, nefarious, rotten, sinful, unrighteous, vicious, villainous, wrong; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, inglorious, reprehensible; corrupt, debased, debauched, degenerate, depraved, dissolute, gamy (or gamey), libertine, loose, perverted, reprobateNear Antonyms decent, ethical, good, honest, just, moral, noble, principled, righteous, upright, upstanding; esteemed, prestigious, reputed, respected; authorized, legal, licensed, permissible, permitted; approved, endorsed (also indorsed), sanctioned; clean, correct, decorous, exemplary, proper, seemly; blameless, commendable, creditable, guiltlessAntonyms honorable, reputable, respectable