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:
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
That was timid, but at least he didn’t endorse Mr. Mamdani’s arrest threat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
But de Brouwer said the EU was "timid" about enforcing the law.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
Now the old man was looking at him with timid eagerness.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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
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
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
He was far, far timider than they thought!'
From Hard Times by Charles Dickens
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
It was always upon some perfectly innocent nothing, which the timidest son might have permitted himself, that the wrath of Darius overwhelmingly burst.
From Clayhanger by Arnold Bennett
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
Marion Jordan! the gentlest, timidest, most typical of young English girls!
From The Daughters of Danaus by Mona Caird
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
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
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.
