SHY

Meaning of SHY in English

I. adjective

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

coconut shy

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

just

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But he left school just shy of his fourteenth birthday.

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Perhaps, I thought, he was just shy about the topic, the same as I had been around my parents.

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But some children are just shy by nature and there's not much you can do about it.

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Tiffani, born last October, weighed just shy of 6 pounds, but seemed so much bigger.

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They say he's too strict; but I think he's just shy .

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We follow the railroad tracks a half-mile east of downtown, just shy of the train tunnel.

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I bet you're just shy .

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He looked not just shy , but resentful.

painfully

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I retreated into my shell, being painfully shy in the first place.

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Riddlesberger is particularly engaging as a painfully shy techno-nerd.

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The result was that I was painfully shy .

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I am considered to be fairly outgoing but as a teenager I was painfully shy .

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From being a painfully shy , diffident recluse, he suddenly metamorphosed into a garrulous and sometimes painfully overbearing extrovert.

rather

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They were feeding young, but were rather shy about having their photograph taken.

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He was rather shy , and pulled back.

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He looks a bit ill, smiles vaguely, and has a strange rather shy expression.

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When we were alone together, we were rather shy with each other, tacitly agreeing to abandon the stand-up routine.

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When Minton had first arrived at the College he had seemed to Elinor a rather shy individual.

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She was by far the quietest, as well as much the nicest, of my four aunts, and normally a rather shy woman.

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As these fish are rather shy , the tank needs to be densely planted to provide them with plenty of cover.

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Nevertheless, it would appear that several local gentlemen are rather shy of investing their money in the three percent bonds.

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She's really quiet, and she's so shy with people.

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He was so shy , he hid his smile behind the rug he wore when I asked if he were a mukki.

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Her friend Sarah, although the same age, was so shy that she appeared much younger.

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For one so shy , he nursed an extraordinary thirst for attention.

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He won't be so shy there.

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Anyway I must say that Arnold was so shy , it was adorable.

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I wished later that I hadn't been so shy .

too

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But why are they too shy to look at each other?

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I wonder if he feels the same way but I am way too shy to ask.

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She wore this lovely flowery dress last week though I felt too shy to ask where she got it.

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He was too shy to come sit by me in class.

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Emily wanted to join in but with Hudson alongside she was too shy .

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As a 5-year-old, I was too shy to stare.

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If only some one would explain these things to me, but I was too shy and scared to ask.

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With adults, some kids would be too shy to ask questions.

very

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I was very shy and never realised it.

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Some defiant children are very shy .

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They tried to see she didn't feel left out but Jean is very shy and sensitive.

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He was a great guy, very shy and not bossy.

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A very shy boy has gradually become chatty and lively.

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His brother was very shy , and I never knew him as well.

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I was very shy but his mischievous grin put me at my ease and we strolled along behind Sally and her beau.

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Most are Type A personalities, very outgoing, although a few are very shy and express themselves through their cars.

■ NOUN

creature

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These shy creatures may sometimes be seen and have been known to stray on to the road, startling passing motorists.

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Would such a shy creature really prey on human offspring?

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The panda is a shy creature , not used to being in contact with other animals, particularly humans.

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This simple test showed that all mankind was one; but it was difficult to do with exotic or shy creatures .

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In the main they are shy creatures , though their speed, strength and agility demand a healthy respect.

smile

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He may respond with a shy smile when mom or dad blows bubbles on his stomach.

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A shy smile hinted that he did not entirely regret it.

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With a shy smile , he greeted my guests, then handed me a gift.

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Margaret offered Maura her little finger with a shy smile .

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The faces of the twins, softer editions of her own, turned towards her questioningly then broke into shy smiles .

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A shy smile , she said later.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

come over (all) shy/nervous etc

fight shy of (doing) sth

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After fighting shy of the idea, Mr Mandela, 82, agreed to it during a visit to London last year.

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In considering the right to live issue, there is a tendency to fight shy of the emotive word of murder.

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Over the years, courts and tribunals have fought shy of laying down detailed procedural guidance.

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This, he says, accounts for developers fighting shy of putting money into the city.

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Yet the 18 counties fight shy of the risk, but what are they frightened of?

guilty/shy/mad/angry etc as hell

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I was as angry as hell .

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Lucy was shy as hell , and Jay was sure and easy.

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She washed spiders down the plughole, and felt guilty as hell about it.

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Strong, dedicated, skilful, passionate, intelligent and as angry as hell .

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The Jaguar is reported to have crashed in a distant country, mad as hell .

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These people were mad as hell .

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Whenever her family had been mentioned she looked as guilty as hell .

once bitten, twice shy

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

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Because little Danny spent all his time with his mother, he was rather shy with men.

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Carl is a very quiet, shy boy.

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Carrie looked up at him and gave him a shy smile.

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David was always rather quiet and shy at school.

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He was painfully shy in public, but completely different at home with his family.

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I was too shy to ask her out on a date.

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Look, she's gone all shy - stop teasing her.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

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A shy smile hinted that he did not entirely regret it.

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He was too shy to come sit by me in class.

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I think it will succeed although it will take ages, for he is fearfully shy , and I am likewise affected.

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Most are Type A personalities, very outgoing, although a few are very shy and express themselves through their cars.

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Perhaps his anxiety leads him to be excessively shy and almost apologise for his existence.

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We follow the railroad tracks a half-mile east of downtown, just shy of the train tunnel.

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You may be shy , but good oral communications are a key business skill.

II. verb

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

away

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But the reason buyers are shying away is fear of the unknown.

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Kritzer, however, said most of the mainstream media are shying away from it.

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Checks around the state in recent months have confirmed that many prominent Democrats are shying away from a run against Quackenbush.

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Florida's lawyers pound on; and democracy shies away because the hard questions can't be put.

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Yet science has consistently shied away from the task.

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These memories are still quite fresh, and Clevelanders do not shy away from them.

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And computer buyers, who have been shying away from Macintosh by the millions, may never return.

■ NOUN

horse

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It is interesting to note how a horse will shy more on one rein than another depending on which is his stiff rein.

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This is particularly likely in a horse who shies suddenly when he is frightened by something he can not identify.

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The horse shied , throwing Darrel from his saddle; he smashed his head on a nearby stone.

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The horse could shy and there could be a fatal accident.

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The horse shied a little and the butt cleaved into the side of my head, almost taking my ear off.

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Soon, the horse will associate shying with a reprimand from his rider.