˜yÐÄvlog

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shy

1

[ shahy ]

adjective

shyer or shier shyest or shiest
  1. Antonyms:

  2. easily frightened away; timid.

    Antonyms:

  3. suspicious, distrustful, or wary (often used in combination): The studio made a huge mistake when they cast a horse-shy actor in the cowboy role.

    I am a bit shy of that sort of person.

    The studio made a huge mistake when they cast a horse-shy actor in the cowboy role.

    This particular inventor was known to be media-shy.

  4. She’s never been shy about asking to speak to the manager when she’s unhappy with customer service.

    Synonyms: , ,

    Antonyms: , ,

  5. shy of funds.

  6. short of a full amount or number; scant: He's pretty tall—just an inch shy of six feet.

    We're still a few dollars shy of our goal.

    He's pretty tall—just an inch shy of six feet.

  7. (in poker) indebted to the pot.
  8. not bearing or breeding freely, as plants or animals.


verb (used without object)

shied shying.
  1. (especially of a horse) to start back or aside, as in fear.
  2. to draw back; recoil.

    Synonyms:

    Antonyms:

noun

plural shies.
  1. a sudden start aside, as in fear.

shy

2

[ shahy ]

verb (used with or without object)

shied, shying.
  1. to throw with a swift, sudden movement:

    to shy a stone.

    Synonyms: , , , ,

noun

plural shies.
  1. a quick, sudden throw.
  2. Informal.
    1. a gibe or sneer.
    2. a try.

shy

1

/ ʃ²¹Éª /

adjective

  1. not at ease in the company of others
  2. easily frightened; timid
  3. often foll by of watchful or wary
  4. poker (of a player) without enough money to back his bet
  5. (of plants and animals) not breeding or producing offspring freely
  6. informal.
    foll by of short (of)
  7. in combination showing reluctance or disinclination

    workshy

“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

verb

  1. to move suddenly, as from fear

    the horse shied at the snake in the road

  2. usually foll byoff or away to draw back; recoil
“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

noun

  1. a sudden movement, as from 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

shy

2

/ ʃ²¹Éª /

verb

  1. to throw (something) with a sideways motion
“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

noun

  1. a quick throw
  2. informal.
    a gibe
  3. informal.
    an attempt; experiment
  4. short for cockshy
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ²õ³ó²â²Ô±ð²õ²õ, noun
  • ˈ²õ³ó²â±ô²â, adverb
  • ˈ²õ³ó²â±ð°ù, noun
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Other ˜yÐÄvlog Forms

  • ²õ³ó²â·±ð°ù noun
  • ²õ³ó²â·±ô²â adverb
  • ²õ³ó²â·²Ô±ð²õ²õ noun
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of shy1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (adjective) schei, sheu, sheouh “easily startled,†Old English ²õ³¦Å§´Ç³ó “timid, fearful, shyâ€; cognate with Middle High German schiech; akin to Dutch schuw, German scheu; eschew

Origin of shy2

First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of shy1

Old English sceoh; related to Old High German sciuhen to frighten away, Dutch schuw shy, Swedish skygg

Origin of shy2

C18: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German sciuhen to make timid, Middle Dutch ²õ³¦³óü³¦³ó³Ù±ð°ù±ð²Ô to chase away
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Idioms and Phrases

  1. fight shy of, to keep away from; avoid:

    She fought shy of making the final decision.

More idioms and phrases containing shy

In addition to the idiom beginning with shy , also see bricks shy of a load ; fight shy of ; once bitten, twice shy .
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Synonym Study

Shy, bashful, diffident imply a manner that shows discomfort or lack of confidence in association with others. Shy implies a constitutional shrinking from contact or close association with others, together with a wish to escape notice: shy and retiring. Bashful suggests timidity about meeting others, and trepidation and awkward behavior when brought into prominence or notice: a bashful child. Diffident emphasizes self-distrust, fear of censure, failure, etc., and a hesitant, tentative manner as a consequence: a diffident approach to a touchy subject.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Noting that the Trump White House has never been shy about announcing made deals, the reporter pointed a finger at the bond market as the real impetus behind Trump's 180.

From

He and his wife live on a fixed income, and the couple are shying away from beef, pork and chicken.

From

She doesn’t shy away from the thornier feelings of adolescence, such as grief, isolation and revenge, the latter of which is the driving force of this installment as Rosie seeks to avenge her mother’s murder.

From

He doesn’t shy away from recounting breakups, makeups and legal and personal battles between the friends and bandmates, but there is a patina of sadness over these anecdotes, rather than bitterness or blame-laying.

From

"It pains us to even say that is the case. It's not somewhere we expected to be and it's embarrassing - we're not going to shy away from that."

From

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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.

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