gun-shy
Americanadjective
-
frightened by the sound of a gunshot.
a gun-shy bird dog.
-
hesitant, wary, or distrustful, especially because of previous unpleasant experience.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gun-shy
First recorded in 1880–85
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.
I said, “Larry’s so afraid of being physically repellent he’d be a little gun-shy about doing that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026
Now you’re down 10%, feeling gun-shy and psychologically paralyzed, unable to pull the trigger on new opportunities.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 28, 2026
Sequoia executives told some clients that Wang became gun-shy after that record loss, subsequently failing to take sufficient advantage of soaring markets and having difficulty making decisions, according to people familiar with the conversations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
It makes sense that he is initially gun-shy having just ended a marriage, but his long-term passivity does not make him endearing.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2024
“The family had an old gun-shy dog. We couldn’t understand why he didn’t bark. Unless he’d seen a gun and bolted.”
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
