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:
And it’s not as though Chick-fil-A is technologically timid.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
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
But de Brouwer said the EU was "timid" about enforcing the law.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
Perhaps too timid with the bat, England were unable to counter a pitch that appeared low and slow.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Then Stan’s father had barely said hello and his mother was this really timid thing who’d passed around potato chips and acted like everything was cool.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
At the top of the companion—ladder Melissa stood waiting for us, demure, but subdued, with a still timider look than ever upon that sweet, shrinking, small face of hers.
From Stories by English Authors: the Sea by Various
Clark!" said Potts, "you're getting timider and timider.
From Cord and Creese by James De Mille
But anon, imbued With a sudden, bounding access Of passion, it relaxes All timider persuasion.
From Dreams and Days: Poems by George Parsons Lathrop
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
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
Their timidest member’s announcement stunned them all to silence––left them hushed and speechless––not for an hour or two, but for the days that followed as well.
From Once to Every Man by Anton Otto Fischer
Some of the musicians jumped off the key when they saw my face, and one or two of the timidest señoritas let out a screech or two.
From Roads of Destiny by O. Henry
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
When you are not the timidest, you are the bravest of creatures.
From A Journey to the Interior of the Earth by Jules Verne
I like to know what two observing eyes saw and the feelings that sometimes made the timidest heroes—sometimes cravens.
From The Iron Game A Tale of the War by Henry F. (Henry Francis) Keenan
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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.
