gun-shy

[guhn-shahy]

adjective

1. frightened by the sound of a gunshot.

   a gun-shy bird dog.

2. hesitant, wary, or distrustful, especially because of previous unpleasant experience.

gun-shy

adjective

1. afraid of a gun or the sound it makes

   a gun-shy dog is useless for shooting

Other Word Forms

• gun-shyness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gun-shy¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Yet without seeing concrete links to investors getting gun-shy on big tech’s increasing capex or slowing growth, it seems unlikely the AI trade is done.

Read more on Barron's

“As we go forward, I think retailers are going to be a little more gun-shy in terms of what they’re buying because of the uncertainty around tariffs,” Chamandy said Wednesday.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Because we have so many bills in front of him, we were gun-shy,” she said, noting that the federation has sparred with the governor over issues such as the effect of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Defensively, it was a sound performance by Haney, largely because gun-shy Ramirez did so little.

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Will the physical and verbal Nacua be gun-shy about engaging defensive players?

Read more on Los Angeles Times