timorous
Americanadjective
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full of fear; fearful.
The noise made them timorous.
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subject to fear; timid.
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characterized by or indicating fear.
a timorous whisper.
adjective
-
fearful or timid
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indicating fear or timidity
Synonym Usage
See cowardly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of timorous
1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin timōrōsus ( Latin timōr- (stem of timor ) fear + -ōsus -ous )
Explanation
A timorous person is timid or shy, like your timorous friend who likes to hang out with close pals but gets nervous around big groups of new people. The adjective timorous is actually the Latin word for ”fearful.” But timorous is a specific kind of fearfulness — the kind that strikes people before giving a speech, or walking into a crowded place where people are socializing. Also called "shy" or "timid," timorous people often become more comfortable when they see a familiar face in the crowd.
Vocabulary lists containing timorous
Frankenstein
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Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I A Woman?" (1863)
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"Common Sense," Vocabulary from the pamphlet
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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.
Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a public interest communications attorney, said Carr is using his bully pulpit at the FCC to intimidate “a timorous broadcasting industry.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Haynesville companies are being more timorous than before because they need to hit their returns on investment, lest they lose hard-won investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
Even amoral or timorous lawyers will hesitate to misbehave if it becomes clear that doing so endangers their livelihood.
From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2025
Somewhat along the lines of Mickey and Goofy or Popeye and Olive, Cuphead is the troublemaker and rule-breaker who drags his more timorous brother, Mugman, into continual misadventures.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
He was small in stature, timorous and shy by nature.
From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye
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.
