shy :: Lexipedia - Where words have meaning

shy

n. a quick throw; "he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman"

start suddenly

v. start suddenly, as from fight

shy

adj. easily startled or frightened

shy

adj. short; "eleven is one shy of a dozen"

shy

adj. indebted to the pot

distrustful

adj. wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things; "shy of strangers"

timid, unsure, diffident

adj. lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid responses"; "a very unsure young man"

balk, baulk, jib, resist

v. refuse to comply

decline, refuse

v. show unwillingness towards; "he declined to join the group on a hike"

dodge, parry, sidestep, duck, hedge, skirt, fudge, evade, circumvent, elude, put off

v. avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully"

wince, flinch, quail, squinch, recoil, shrink, funk, cringe

v. draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf"

afraid

adj. filled with fear or apprehension; "afraid even to turn his head"; "suddenly looked afraid"; "afraid for his life"; "afraid of snakes"; "afraid to ask questions"

cautious, careful

adj. showing careful forethought; "reserved and cautious; never making swift decisions"; "a cautious driver"

unapproachable, distant, aloof, offish

adj. remote in manner; "stood apart with aloof dignity"; "a distant smile"; "he was upstage with strangers"

reserved

adj. marked by self-restraint and reticence; "was habitually reserved in speech, withholding her opinion"-Victoria Sackville-West

reticent, self-effacing

adj. reluctant to draw attention to yourself

diffident

adj. showing modest reserve; "she was diffident when offering a comment on the professor's lecture"

indrawn, withdrawn

adj. tending to reserve or introspection; "a quiet indrawn man"

blate, bashful

adj. disposed to avoid notice; "they considered themselves a tough outfit and weren't bashful about letting anybody know it"; (`blate' is a Scottish term for bashful)

bashful

adj. self-consciously timid; "I never laughed, being bashful; lowering my head, I looked at the wall"- Ezra Pound

coy

adj. modestly or warily rejecting approaches or overtures; "like a wild young colt, very inquisitive but very coy and not to be easily cajoled"

fearful, timorous, trepid

adj. timid by nature or revealing timidity; "timorous little mouse"; "in a timorous tone"; "cast fearful glances at the large dog"

intimidated

adj. made timid or fearful as by threats

mousy, mousey

adj. quiet and timid and ineffectual

low, depleted

adj. no longer sufficient; "supplies are low"; "our funds are depleted"

short, inadequate, poor

adj. not sufficient to meet a need; "an inadequate income"; "a poor salary"; "money is short"; "on short rations"; "food is in short supply"; "short on experience"

lean

adj. containing little excess; "a lean budget"; "a skimpy allowance"

lean, skimpy

adj. containing little excess; "a lean budget"; "a skimpy allowance"

scarce

adj. not enough; hard to find; "meat was scarce during the war"

cautious

adj. "a wary glance at the black clouds"

watchful, on guard

adj. vigilant; "on guard against con artists"; "must remain on your guard in such a situation"

uncertain, groping

adj. moving or acting uncertainly; indicating uncertainty

unsure

adj. lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid responses"; "a very unsure young man"

bold

adj. fearless and daring; "bold settlers on some foreign shore"; "a bold speech"; "a bold adventure"

forward

adj. used of temperament or behavior; lacking restraint or modesty; "a forward child badly in need of discipline"

confident

adj. having or marked by confidence or assurance; "a confident speaker"; "a confident reply"; "his manner is more confident these days"; "confident of fulfillment"

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