shy
/ʃaɪ/ adjective, verb, noun, proper noun
Forms shier shyer shiest shyest shies shying shied Shys
- adjective Easily frightened; timid.
- adjective Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach. “He is very shy with strangers.”
- adjective Cautious; wary; suspicious.
- adjective (informal) Short, insufficient or less than. “By our count your shipment came up two shy of the bill of lading amount.”
- adjective (UK, US, politics, of a voter) Less likely to reveal whom they will vote for than average, chiefly in the context of the collective effect this has on polling accuracy. “Pollsters need to remember the shy Tory factor.”
- verb (intransitive) To avoid due to caution, embarrassment or timidness.
- verb (intransitive) To jump back in fear. “The horse shied at the unexpected approach of a motor vehicle.”
- verb (transitive) To throw sideways with a jerk; to fling. “to shy a stone”
- verb (Scotland, transitive, intransitive) To throw a ball with two hands above the head, especially when it has crossed the side lines in a football (soccer) match.
- verb (Scotland) To hit the ball back into play from the sidelines in a shinty match.
- noun An act of throwing.
- noun A place for throwing. “coconut shy”
- noun A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
- noun In the Eton College wall game, a point scored by lifting the ball against the wall in the calx.
- noun (Scotland, soccer) A throw-in from the sidelines, using two hands above the head.
- noun (Scotland) In shinty, the act of tossing the ball above the head and hitting it with the shaft of the caman to bring it back into play after it has been hit out of the field.
- noun (archaic) A gibe; a sneer.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
abashed backward bashful bookish coy distant embarrassed hesitant mousy unassertive passive quiet reclusive retiring shamefast sheep-faced sheepish submissive timid uncommunicative diffident unsure
Antonyms
bold brave confident courageous adventurous fearless unshy audacious cheeky brazen gregarious outgoing
Etymology
From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird.
- adjective Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
- verb To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; --said especially of horses.
- verb To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper. T. Hughes.
Etymology [OE. schey, skey, sceouh, AS. sceóh; akin to Dan. sky, Sw. skygg, D. schuw, MHG. schiech, G. scheu, OHG. sciuhen to be or make timid. Cf. Eschew.]
Etymology [From Shy, a.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “shy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details