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:
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
His captaincy towards the end of his previous tenure was marked by criticisms of a timid approach that failed to bring the best from England's batting talents.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
But de Brouwer said the EU was "timid" about enforcing the law.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
She’s receding into herself, suddenly quiet, suddenly timid.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
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
He was far, far timider than they thought!'
From Hard Times by Charles Dickens
But anon, imbued With a sudden, bounding access Of passion, it relaxes All timider persuasion.
From Dreams and Days: Poems by George Parsons Lathrop
Often the little timider ones were called on to repeat the rhyme alone, without singing it, and then to sing it alone with the teacher.
From Education in The Home, The Kindergarten, and The Primary School by Elizabeth P. (Palmer) Peabody
She'd eat me," said the spider, "and, anyhow, the competition on the wall is dreadful, and the flies are getting wiser and timider every season.
From The Crock of Gold by James Stephens
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
To give you a clue, recollect that he was the timidest of souls.
From Bunyan Characters (2nd Series) by Alexander Whyte
But there is an Aunt Milly that Anne didn't seem to know about and, Claire, she is human—the dearest, sweetest, prettiest, timidest little thing.
From Happy House by Jane D. Abbott
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
Even the timidest soul dare not "stand pat."
From A Preface to Politics by Walter Lippmann
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.
