shy1

[shahy] /ʃaɪ/
adjective, shyer or shier, shyest or shiest.
1.
bashful; retiring.
2.
easily frightened away; timid.
3.
suspicious; distrustful:
I am a bit shy of that sort of person.
4.
reluctant; wary.
5.
deficient:
shy of funds.
6.
scant; short of a full amount or number:
still a few dollars shy of our goal; an inch shy of being 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.
9.
(especially of a horse) to start back or aside, as in fear.
10.
to draw back; recoil.
noun, plural shies.
11.
a sudden start aside, as in fear.
Idioms
12.
fight shy of, to keep away from; avoid:
She fought shy of making the final decision.
Origin
before 1000; late Middle English schey (adj.), early Middle English scheowe, Old English scēoh; cognate with Middle High German schiech; akin to Dutch schuw, German scheu; cf. eschew
Related forms
shyer, noun
shyly, adverb
shyness, noun
Synonyms
1. 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. 4. heedful, cautious, chary. 10. shrink.
Antonyms
1. forward. 2. trusting. 4. careless. 10. advance.

shy2

[shahy] /ʃaɪ/
verb (used with object), verb (used without object), shied, shying.
1.
to throw with a swift, sudden movement:
to shy a stone.
noun, plural shies.
2.
a quick, sudden throw.
3.
Informal.
  1. a gibe or sneer.
  2. a try.
Origin
1780-90; origin uncertain
Related forms
shyer, noun
Synonyms
1. toss, pitch, fling, cast, flip.
Examples from the web for shy
  • Lee is quiet and thoughtful and, by his own description, shy.
  • He's really quiet and shy, and then all of a sudden he'll drop the funniest line you've ever heard in a conversation.
  • For shy people, academic life is both protective and terrifying.
  • They tend to be a shy bunch, happiest when out on their horses.
  • He wears a shy smile and a big backpack and is happiest in the forest.
  • But they would probably stop shy of trying to prevent the nomination of a secretary of defence during wartime.
  • In the meantime, he is not shy about accepting money from the dairy industry.
  • Today, the six-month-old spends her time playing with the web camera, though the keepers describe her as shy.
  • He isn't shy about the confrontation of failure and he doesn't hold back negative feedback.
  • So, those shy students and/or disinterested students all sit there.
British Dictionary definitions for shy

shy1

/ʃaɪ/
adjective shyer, shyest, shier, shiest
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.
(foll by of) (informal, mainly US & Canadian) short (of)
7.
(in combination) showing reluctance or disinclination: workshy
verb (intransitive) shies, shying, shied
8.
to move suddenly, as from fear: the horse shied at the snake in the road
9.
usually foll by off or away. to draw back; recoil
noun (pl) shies
10.
a sudden movement, as from fear
Derived Forms
shyly, adverb
shyness, noun
Word Origin
Old English sceoh; related to Old High German sciuhen to frighten away, Dutch schuw shy, Swedish skygg

shy2

/ʃaɪ/
verb shies, shying, shied
1.
to throw (something) with a sideways motion
noun (pl) shies
2.
a quick throw
3.
(informal) a gibe
4.
(informal) an attempt; experiment
5.
short for cockshy
Derived Forms
shyer, noun
Word Origin
C18: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German sciuhen to make timid, Middle Dutch schüchteren to chase away
Word Origin and History for shy
adj.

late Old English sceoh "timid, easily startled," from Proto-Germanic *skeukh(w)az "afraid" (cf. Middle Low German schüwe, Dutch schuw, German scheu "shy;" Old High German sciuhen, German scheuchen "to scare away"). Uncertain cognates outside Germanic, unless in Old Church Slavonic shchuti "to hunt, incite." Italian schivare "to avoid," Old French eschiver "to shun" are Germanic loan-words. Meaning "lacking, short of" is from 1895, American English gambling slang. Related: Shyly; shyness.

v.

"to throw (a missile) with a jerk or toss," 1787, colloquial, of unknown origin and uncertain connection to shy (adj.). Related: Shied; shying.

"to recoil," 1640s, from shy (adj.). Related: Shied; shying.

Slang definitions & phrases for shy

shy

noun

A usually criminal usurer; loan shark, shylock: a shy on East Houston who lent money/ I don't know who's got the markers. It's some shy (1970s+)


Related Abbreviations for shy

Shy

Shy-Drager syndrome
Idioms and Phrases with shy

shy

In addition to the idiom beginning with
shy
also see: