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shy
1[ shahy ]
adjective
Antonyms:
- easily frightened away; timid.
Antonyms:
- 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.
She’s never been shy about asking to speak to the manager when she’s unhappy with customer service.
Synonyms: , ,
Antonyms: , ,
shy of funds.
- 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.
- (in poker) indebted to the pot.
- not bearing or breeding freely, as plants or animals.
verb (used without object)
- (especially of a horse) to start back or aside, as in fear.
- to draw back; recoil.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
noun
- a sudden start aside, as in fear.
shy
2[ shahy ]
verb (used with or without object)
- to throw with a swift, sudden movement:
to shy a stone.
Synonyms: , , , ,
noun
- a quick, sudden throw.
- Informal.
- a gibe or sneer.
- a try.
shy
1/ ʃɪ /
adjective
- not at ease in the company of others
- easily frightened; timid
- often foll by of watchful or wary
- poker (of a player) without enough money to back his bet
- (of plants and animals) not breeding or producing offspring freely
- informal.foll by of short (of)
- in combination showing reluctance or disinclination
workshy
verb
- to move suddenly, as from fear
the horse shied at the snake in the road
- usually foll byoff or away to draw back; recoil
noun
- a sudden movement, as from fear
shy
2/ ʃɪ /
verb
- to throw (something) with a sideways motion
noun
- a quick throw
- informal.a gibe
- informal.an attempt; experiment
- short for cockshy
Derived Forms
- ˈԱ, noun
- ˈ, adverb
- ˈ, noun
Other 51Թ Forms
- · noun
- · adverb
- ·Ա noun
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of shy1
Origin of shy2
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of shy1
Origin of shy2
Idioms and Phrases
- 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 .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
As a result, the Dodgers’ perfect start to the season fell two wins shy of the all-time franchise record of 10-0, set by the 1955 “Boys of Summer” World Series squad.
Allen was usually shy, but if she was surrounded by the right people, she would sing, dance and make jokes, her family said.
By the next summer, however, The Batter Bowl shut down — not because business was bad, but because I quietly began to shy away from the world I had so confidently built for myself.
Despite being shy and inhibited, he began “moonlighting” in the drama department, where, he later wrote, he found himself “fast losing my heart to drama.”
He described himself as a "shy, serious, lugubrious kid, painfully thin, with a long, sad face".
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Related 51Թs
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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