timid
Americanadjective
-
lacking in self-assurance, courage, or bravery; easily alarmed; timorous; shy.
- Synonyms:
- fainthearted, fearful
-
characterized by or indicating fear.
a timid approach to a problem.
adjective
-
easily frightened or upset, esp by human contact; shy
-
indicating shyness or fear
Synonym Usage
See cowardly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of timid
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin timidus “fearful,” equivalent to tim(ēre) “to fear” + -idus adjective suffix; see -id 4
Explanation
Timid means "overly cautious or fearful," like a timid driver who drives very slowly or avoids highways altogether. Timid comes from the Middle French word timide, meaning "easily frightened, shy." Those who are timid often worry that things will go wrong: a timid eater orders bland food to avoid the possibility not liking the flavor of something new, just as a timid partygoer talks to people he already knows, afraid that he won't be able to talk to strangers.
Vocabulary lists containing timid
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 5
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Emotions on Display
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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:
The unassuming and, at times, seemingly timid American is a very popular winner of what was unquestionably one of the best races of a long season.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Known for his gruff vocals, LaMontagne first came to the scene in the early aughts as a timid troubadour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The long story short is that we haven’t traveled very far thematically since Thomas Jefferson said that timid men prefer despotism — although that was around 250 years ago.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
But de Brouwer said the EU was "timid" about enforcing the law.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
“But as Ruth says, Madeline has some strange ways about her. From the time she was a child, she was timid as a church mouse.”
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
At the top of the companion—ladder Melissa stood waiting for us, demure, but subdued, with a still timider look than ever upon that sweet, shrinking, small face of hers.
From Stories by English Authors: the Sea by Various
Clark!" said Potts, "you're getting timider and timider.
From Cord and Creese by James De Mille
The tenderer and the timider of creatures Often desert the brood that has been handled, Or turned about, or indiscreetly looked at.
From The Young Lady's Mentor A Guide to the Formation of Character. In a Series of Letters to Her Unknown Friends by An English Lady
The timider of the guilty pair drank unwarily, not knowing what was offered to him, and fell into a fit of coughing.
From VC — A Chronicle of Castle Barfield and of the Crimea by David Christie Murray
But anon, imbued With a sudden, bounding access Of passion, it relaxes All timider persuasion.
From Dreams and Days: Poems by George Parsons Lathrop
I like to know what two observing eyes saw and the feelings that sometimes made the timidest heroes—sometimes cravens.
From The Iron Game A Tale of the War by Henry F. (Henry Francis) Keenan
It is said that outside the field of battle he was one of the timidest of men, and even submitted quite tamely to the insolence of his own servants.
From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 2 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
My mean and abject spirit Dost thou rebuke, O timidest of all, Vanquish'd e'en by a woman, her who gave For thee, her young fair husband, her own life!
From Story of Orestes A Condensation of the Trilogy by Richard Green Moulton
With a great cry of the soul to that God it yearned and felt for through all the darkness and ruin which encompassed it, he laid his hand on hers with the timidest passing touch.
From Robert Elsmere by Mrs. Humphry Ward
Their timidest member’s announcement stunned them all to silence––left them hushed and speechless––not for an hour or two, but for the days that followed as well.
From Once to Every Man by Anton Otto Fischer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
