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:
This wasn’t a timid outfit in their Waldo jerseys—this team went out and took it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
But around kids her own age, Bonnie is so timid she becomes aggravating to watch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
But it was "far too timid" in view of "the damage and trauma caused by these practices", she added.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Still the editor-in-chief of Runway, Miranda is working to smooth her edges to avoid causing a stir in an industry that no longer excuses mistreatment, even though her employees remain timid in her midst.
From Salon ● May 1, 2026
A timid paw tapping on the door snapped Cluny from his reverie with a start.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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 Peabody, Elizabeth P. (Palmer)
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 Murray, David Christie
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 Stephens, James
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
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 Lady, An English
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 West, Julius
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 Fischer, Anton Otto
But delays are ever dangerous, and Mr. Price's friend was the timidest of the most timid men.
From The Story of the Great Fire in St. John, N.B., June 20th, 1877 by Stewart, George
When you are not the timidest, you are the bravest of creatures.
From A Journey to the Interior of the Earth by Verne, Jules
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 Keenan, Henry F. (Henry Francis)
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.
