as in shy
easily frightened
a timid rabbit hopped cautiously out of the hedge
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of timid
But even Patton’s weather prayer looks timid next to Hegseth’s impious rage.
—
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 30 Mar. 2026
Their smaller counterparts, alpacas, are more timid and shy, but the more independent ones that aren't afraid to be away from the herd do well as therapy animals.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2026
Jerusalem, timid about the prospect of a land invasion, can only respond with more airstrikes until the regime hits its breaking point and the people rise up.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 19 Mar. 2026
But the Joro spider is considered relatively timid and poses no significant threat to humans.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for timid
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 30 Mar. 2026
Their smaller counterparts, alpacas, are more timid and shy, but the more independent ones that aren't afraid to be away from the herd do well as therapy animals.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2026
Jerusalem, timid about the prospect of a land invasion, can only respond with more airstrikes until the regime hits its breaking point and the people rise up.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 19 Mar. 2026
But the Joro spider is considered relatively timid and poses no significant threat to humans.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for timid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for timid
Adjective
-
In other words, the Chargers won’t be shy about using Mesidor equally in running or passing situations.—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Skeptics point out oral exams can be unsettling for students who are shy or have serious anxiety, but clarifying the format ahead of time and starting with softball questions can help, says Carolyn Aslan, who leads Cornell’s oral exam training.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
My agent, Marty Diamond, had to face down a steady stream of ‘no’s from fearful artist reps.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The question of whether Balzac’s fear was real is perhaps less interesting than the work the story does to position the fearful encounter as simply a symptom of innovation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The lesser among them, the timorous, the doubtful, and the wavering, stood back, watching, waiting for some greater sign, savoring their doubts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
-
The great danger of that moment was that a political backlash — abetted by a furious media and timorous politicians — would lead to a restoration of the policy of Roe.—
The Editors,
National Review,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
Yes, scarier than the strange dialogue in Reminders of Him.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
27 Apr. 2026
-
However, there was a really scary moment in a Game 4 thriller when one player took a skate blade straight to the face.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
There were a number of people who were very, very scared.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
From then on, no more physical abuse occurs in front of the camera, though there is tension in the air during many of Joe's scenes, as Michael is scared of standing up to his dad until the very end.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Handsome Belgian executive Geert (Arieh Worthalter) regales an enthusiastic crowd with a yarn, while his mousy tech head Luc (Jan Hammenecker) demonstrates to what might be the world’s first speech-to-text technology.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
15 Feb. 2026
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Her name is Minnie, but her shyness leans toward the mousy, though no one would ever say that to her, least of all her beloved and extremely outgoing best friend, Callie (Chloe Coleman).—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Umpires, afraid of being overturned, or at least, more aware of the new zone and its limitations, have been calling fewer strikes.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Almost half are personally afraid of losing their job to AI, ranking it among the most acute individual stressors measured in the survey.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The key cabin crew are flight attendants Penny (Lucy Barrett) and Zoe (Na Shi), both of whom demonstrate bravery, to different ends, and show caring attention to the terrified children.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
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Though Ridley Scott works in a drastically different tone than the one John Carpenter brought to Dark Star, the two films share screenwriter Dan O’Bannon’s darkly comedic view of a future that has reduced humans to alternately bored and terrified cogs in larger machines.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Timid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/timid. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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