shy
1 Americanadjective
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- Antonyms:
- forward
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easily frightened away; timid.
- Antonyms:
- trusting
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suspicious, distrustful, or wary (often used in combination): The studio made a huge mistake when they cast a horse-shy actor in the cowboy role.
I am a bit shy of that sort of person.
The studio made a huge mistake when they cast a horse-shy actor in the cowboy role.
This particular inventor was known to be media-shy.
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She’s never been shy about asking to speak to the manager when she’s unhappy with customer service.
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shy of funds.
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short of a full amount or number; scant: He's pretty tall—just an inch shy of six feet.
We're still a few dollars shy of our goal.
He's pretty tall—just an inch shy of six feet.
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(in poker) indebted to the pot.
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not bearing or breeding freely, as plants or animals.
verb (used without object)
noun
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shies
plural
idioms
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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shies
plural
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a quick, sudden throw.
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Informal.
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a gibe or sneer.
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a try.
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adjective
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not at ease in the company of others
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easily frightened; timid
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(often foll by of) watchful or wary
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poker (of a player) without enough money to back his bet
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(of plants and animals) not breeding or producing offspring freely
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informal (foll by of) short (of)
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(in combination) showing reluctance or disinclination
workshy
verb
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to move suddenly, as from fear
the horse shied at the snake in the road
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to draw back; recoil
noun
verb
noun
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a quick throw
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informal a gibe
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informal an attempt; experiment
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short for cockshy
Synonym Usage
Shy, bashful, diffident imply a manner that shows discomfort or lack of confidence in association with others. Shy implies a constitutional shrinking from contact or close association with others, together with a wish to escape notice: shy and retiring. Bashful suggests timidity about meeting others, and trepidation and awkward behavior when brought into prominence or notice: a bashful child. Diffident emphasizes self-distrust, fear of censure, failure, etc., and a hesitant, tentative manner as a consequence: a diffident approach to a touchy subject.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of shy1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English (adjective) schei, sheu, sheouh “easily startled,” Old English scēoh “timid, fearful, shy”; cognate with Middle High German schiech; akin to Dutch schuw, German scheu; cf. eschew
Origin of shy2
First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain
Explanation
Making small talk is not much fun for a shy person. Shy means being nervous or reserved around other people, especially in a social situation. Someone who's extremely shy might blush or stammer when talking to a group of people. Shy can also mean "tending to avoid," like when someone is "camera shy," or if they "shy away" from being straightforward. The Old English root scēoh, "easily frightened," originally only referred to a horse, and came from a Germanic root meaning "scare."
Vocabulary lists containing shy
Scrabble: Words with no Vowels
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But for that all that, the shy teenager said: "I don't think I am what people describe as a prodigy."
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
"Or will it shy away from reform to protect its image? This is not an isolated incident."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
“I am not shy to be out there, fight the good fight, take on challenges head on,” she told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
It’s not something to shun and shy away and run away from.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
He gives me a sly but still very shy smile.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
"He shies away from the cameras, he doesn't address the nation at times and moments when people might expect him to," said Ashish Pradhan of the International Crisis Group.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
The Northamptonshire politician said it had been a "pleasure" to work with Streeting, who "never shies away from the right principled decision, even in difficult times".
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
As indelible as the lyrics of “Born to Run” are, Springsteen shies away from talk of artistry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2025
Cher, musical icon and 2024 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, never shies away from voicing an opinion.
From Salon ● May 2, 2024
But in addition it must have purpose or the human conscience shies away from it.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
“Mabel 2 is much shier and has more wildness in her,” so she was used in the nervous bird scenes early on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
“I just loved it. It was a natural fit. I think it’s good for any child, to be honest, for confidence. I was on the shier side.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
Toula worked in my shier stage of life.
From Time Magazine Archive
This is a much shier bird than P. humii.
From The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, Volume 1 by Allan Octavian Hume
He was really a fine shier, and his dribbling powers beyond dispute.
From Scottish Football Reminiscences and Sketches by David Drummond Bone
Tell them how excited you are for them to meet your cousin, or make them the hero by asking them to check on the shiest person at the soiree.
From Salon ● Nov. 23, 2021
"But also, the girls and young women themselves, since it's likely the shiest and least experienced young women who are the victims of such encounters, would be loath to discuss them."
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2021
One of his closest friends among the Ducks, center Jake Hanson, once called Herbert “the shiest dude I’ve ever met.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2020
“I like that it can draw out even the shiest person,” she said.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2017
This resentful look is deceptive, however, for the bird is the shiest creature imaginable.
From Argentine Ornithology, Volume I (of 2) A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic. by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson
Often unnoticed by drivers, these structures help shyer animals move across the landscape.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 31, 2024
The looking task yielded more nuanced results, indicating that shyer children were occasionally more accurate but less likely to respond.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2023
A duet is a great opportunity for a shyer person to sing without having to be the complete center of attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2023
Although it is Nazar who has lost his eye, he seems more protective over his brother Timur, who is a little shyer and more withdrawn.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2022
Why, you could go through twenty words without bumping into some of the shyer consonants, but it seemed as if you couldn’t tiptoe past a syllable without waking up a vowel.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
Domingo was a mama’s boy and the shyest of his siblings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
However, Louis said Parker does not shared his nerves: "With the bike helmet off, the shyest kid he'll ever meet but, bike helmet on, he's so confident."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2024
Most of his teammates consider him one of the shyest players on Penn State’s roster.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023
Pre-K might sound like a safe domain for even the shyest political spouse.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2022
Her hair was short and curly and she had the biggest, prettiest, shyest eyes he’d ever seen.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Rojas has shied away from a full farewell tour but is contemplating returning after the season and transitioning into a player development role.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
But she shied away from making political statements.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
And in 2024, a host of figures who’d previously shied away from the president loudly and proudly got on board, from Vance to entertainment figures like Joe Rogan.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
He shied away from criticising the president directly and declined to answer whether he backs Zelensky to win any election.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The gulls shied a few feet, then returned to picking through the grass.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
Like “Babe” and “Homeward Bound” before it, the film treats its younger audience with the respect and maturity they deserve, wading into heavy thematic territory without shying away from the bittersweet realities of death.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
The union’s leaders are clear that they aren’t shying away from their demands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
Crude oil futures rose on Wednesday, extending a move off lows as traders assess the likelihood the U.S. will attack oil producer Iran as well as the impact of India shying away from Russian oil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
"I'm not shying away from that. However, I would say that the love actually does outshine the hate."
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025
I chased up and down streets and alleys, sticking to the shadows and shying away from the flickering streetlamps.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
