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
Related Words
See cowardly.
Other Word Forms
- overtimid adjective
- overtimidly adverb
- timidity noun
- timidly adverb
- timidness noun
- untimid adjective
- untimidly adverb
Etymology
Origin of timid
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin timidus “fearful,” equivalent to tim(ēre) “to fear” + -idus adjective suffix; -id 4
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.
Now 71, he offers advice that suggests a leader who was often worried but never timid; at moments of ambiguity, he says, “try simply acting like you’re in charge,” which is just what he did.
I ventured a timid comment about the tulips: “So tall, they must have been beautiful.”
From Literature
Yet with only two wickets lost there was the unerring sense that Zimbabwe's approach had been a little timid and they had left some runs out in the middle.
From BBC
What could the boy Rowan, the shy, timid herder of the bukshah, have to say?
From Literature
While McInnes named an attacking side, they looked timid in the build-up, struggling to stay calm in the typical chaos of an Edinburgh derby.
From BBC
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.
