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.
She did not win another tournament in 2025 and while she won her two opening matches in Melbourne this year in straight sets, she was nervy and admitted being "too timid".
From Barron's
After admitting to being nervous and timid in embarking in her title defence, this was more like the Keys that stunned Aryna Sabalenka in the final a year ago.
From Barron's
He was by no means sure that what he called the “timid & mercenary” North could restore the Union, but he was determined to do all that he could for that cause.
"At the start I felt I was playing a little timid and not really trusting my first instinct," Keys said.
From BBC
“We were always slow, we were always too little, and we were always timid,” Kashkari said at the emergency March 15 meeting.
From MarketWatch
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.
