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
We’re conditioned to be cynical about these sorts of league investigations, that the dog very rarely catches the bumper, and if it does, the bite is timid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 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
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
The proximity of the farm had had the effect of scaring antelopes and gazelles and the timider animals away from the neighbourhood.
From Settlers and Scouts by Herbert Strang
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
Clark!" said Potts, "you're getting timider and timider.
From Cord and Creese by James De Mille
The tenderer and the timider of creatures Often desert the brood that has been handled, Or turned about, or indiscreetly looked at.
From The Young Lady's Mentor A Guide to the Formation of Character. In a Series of Letters to Her Unknown Friends by An English Lady
He was far, far timider than they thought!'
From Hard Times by Charles Dickens
The timidest one will turn and fight with every sign of fury.
From Outwitting Our Nerves A Primer of Psychotherapy by Josephine A. Jackson
But the dragons are dead and converted into poor fossil ichthyosauruses, incapable of biting the timidest damsel or the most corpulent knight that ever came out of the Stock Exchange.
From G. K. Chesterton, A Critical Study by Julius West
As a rule, extreme vanity makes the timidest very bold in speaking.
From The Recollections of Alexis de Tocqueville by Alexis de Tocqueville
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
Not now could the timidest soul believe that Germany was fighting a war of defense.
From Raemaekers' Cartoon History of the War, Volume 1 The First Twelve Months of War by Louis Raemaekers
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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.
