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 as Mr. Brady himself says, “I’m shy, I don’t like to talk a lot. If I had a choice I would probably fade off into the background.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
McCourt said she wouldn't shy away from identifying pressures in the system such as staffing shortages.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
EU gas storage is just shy of 73% full, well below 83% at the same point last year and the five-year average of 88%, according to ING.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
A true statement and a matter of fact: The Dodgers can’t win in two, but they’re not shy about expecting to win.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
“He’s shy, so he probably won’t come out while you’re here. I’m going to check the bathroom, though. He likes to hide behind the toilet. One sec.”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
"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
"Malick never shies away from a challenge and always wants to lead from the front - a true mentality monster," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
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
The mind shies away from a head tax, a facility tax.
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
He was really a fine shier, and his dribbling powers beyond dispute.
From Scottish Football Reminiscences and Sketches by David Drummond Bone
There effects are flung at the spectator's head like balls at a cocoanut; if they fail to register a hit it is the fault of the shier, not of the nut.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 159, 1920-07-28 by Various
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
However, Cave says that where he differs most from Bunny is when it comes to women as he's "much shyer around women".
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
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
Slate, a bit shyer and more reserved than you would expect, is still contemplating her post-pandemic life.
From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2021
The shyer creatures would go to the water hole early in the morning, drink a few sips of water, and then move away.
From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith
Domingo was a mama’s boy and the shyest of his siblings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
And I kept thinking about my summer habit of roasting fruit in big weekly batches, how a stint in the oven could turn even the shyest berries into something plush and intense.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
"I was probably the shyest of the three."
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025
Most of his teammates consider him one of the shyest players on Penn State’s roster.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023
Most people think that, because I don’t say much, I’m the shyest king to ever walk the earth, but I’m not actually shy.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
Holmes herself shied from the public eye, making the surprise release of the documentary "You Can See Everything" all the more astonishing when it debuted to high praise at the Telluride Film Festival in September.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Boring would have normally shied away from the red tape of joining a federal program, he said, but the DHS task force program was too good to pass up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
But Pocognoli has not shied away from big calls so far - his initial bold squad and his offering of three debuts in two games stand out.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
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 the moment I approached and reached for the saddlebag, he shied away, making me miss my footing and nearly fall on my face.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
It’s been a big topic, and certainly one that I’m not shying away from.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2026
The union’s leaders are clear that they aren’t shying away from their demands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
Nor is Venezi shying away from the fight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 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
This time the towering fellow swung on him like a shying horse.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
