bashful

[bash-fuhl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bashful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

uncomfortably diffident and easily embarrassed; shy; timid.

indicative of, accompanied by, or proceeding from bashfulness.

Origin of bashful

First recorded in 1540–50; (a)bash + -ful

Related formsbash·ful·ly, adverbbash·ful·ness, nouno·ver·bash·ful, adjectiveo·ver·bash·ful·ly, adverbo·ver·bash·ful·ness, nounun·bash·ful, adjectiveun·bash·ful·ly, adverbun·bash·ful·ness, noun

Synonyms for bashful

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bashful ON THESAURUS.COM

1. abashed, modest. See shy¹.

Antonyms for bashful

arrogant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bashful

reticent, sheepish, diffident, coy, confused, embarrassed, timid, self-conscious, abashed, backward, blushing, chary, demure, humble, modest, nervous, reserved, retiring, shamefaced, shrinking

Examples from the Web for bashful

Historical Examples of bashful

But, I fancy, it is many, many years ago since he was bashful.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
The man to be so bashful; the woman to want so much courting!
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
"Probably the presence of Stumpy made her bashful," suggested Ned.
Frank Roscoe's Secret
Allen Chapman
Bashful or bold then, he will know how to make us seniors very unnecessary.
Essays, First Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Oh, they are most beautiful," replied she, with a bashful falling of her eyelids.
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for bashful

bashful

adjective

disposed to attempt to avoid notice through shyness or modesty; diffident; timid

indicating or characterized by shyness or modesty

Derived Formsbashfully, adverbbashfulness, noun

Word Origin for bashful

C16: from bash, short for abash + -ful

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bashful

adj.

1540s, from baishen "to be filled with consternation or dismay" (mid-14c.), from Old French baissier "bring down, humiliate" (see abash). Related: Bashfully; bashfulness (1530s).