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
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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.
"On one level I feel completely OK with it, and on the other I find it slightly terrifying," says the co-founder of Edinburgh-based luxury fabric and wallpaper company Timorous Beasties.
From BBC • Aug. 9, 2023
Santini once designed a kitchen with a ceiling covered by a swarm of illustrated honeybees, thanks to wallpaper from Timorous Beasties.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 19, 2023
Timorous, irrelevant American opera companies won’t touch the stuff.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2020
Glasgow design house Timorous Beasties is known for avant-garde takes on traditional patterns for wallcoverings and fabrics.
From Washington Times • Oct. 30, 2019
Timorous answered, that they...had got up that difficult place: but, said he, the further we go, the more danger we meet with; wherefore we turned, and are going back again.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
