shy
adjective · verb · noun
Simple meaning
Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
shyIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʃaɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach.
Easily frightened; timid.
Embarrassed.
Cautious; wary; suspicious.
informal
Short, insufficient or less than.
verb
intransitive
To avoid due to caution, embarrassment or timidness.
intransitive
To jump back in fear.
Throw quickly
transitive
To throw sideways with a jerk; to fling.
noun
An act of throwing.
A place for throwing.
A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
In the Eton College wall game, a point scored by lifting the ball against the wall in the calx.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach.
Used this way, shy is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It keeps things gentle rather than emphatic.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Reluctant or hesitant
- Usage feel
- Understated and gentle
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use shy
- “The little kitten was very shy and hid under the bed.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Avoid having to deal with some unpleasant task.
Someone who shrinks from familiarity with others.
Commonly Confused With
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.