timid

[ tim-id ]

/ ˈtɪm ɪd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR timid ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, tim·id·er, tim·id·est.

lacking in self-assurance, courage, or bravery; easily alarmed; timorous; shy.

characterized by or indicating fear: a timid approach to a problem.

Nearby words

timeserver, timespan, timetable, timework, timeworn, timid, timing, timing belt, timing chain, timing gear, timişoara

Origin of timid

1540–50; < Latin timidus fearful, equivalent to tim(ēre) to fear + -idus -id⁴

SYNONYMS FOR timid

1 fearful, fainthearted.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR timid ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

ti·mid·i·ty, tim·id·ness, nountim·id·ly, adverbo·ver·tim·id, adjectiveo·ver·tim·id·ly, adverb

o·ver·tim·id·ness, nouno·ver·ti·mid·i·ty, nounun·tim·id, adjectiveun·tim·id·ly, adverbun·tim·id·ness, noun

Synonym study

1. See cowardly.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for timidly

The quartet is presented with a pitcher of syrup, which the waiter advises we apply “temperately, but not timidly.”
The Hunt for New Orleans’s Secret Dish|Jane & Michael Stern|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"He is the member for North Northamptonshire," I timidly replied.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893|Various
To-day I timidly approached one of the ferocious looking animals he writes about.
From Edinburgh to India & Burmah|William G. Burn Murdoch
She was gone, but in passing him she had timidly caressed his shoulder.
Tales of the Five Towns|Arnold Bennett

At first he had timidly sought the less assertive ones of his kind.
Gigolo|Edna Ferber
No one could have guessed it from observing the caressing and timidly amorous glances behind his glasses.
The Enemies of Women|Vicente Blasco Ibez

British Dictionary definitions for timidly

timid

/ (ˈtɪmɪd) /

adjective

easily frightened or upset, esp by human contact; shy

indicating shyness or fear

Derived Forms

timidity or timidness, nountimidly, adverb

Word Origin for timid

C16: from Latin timidus, from timēre to fear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012