I. ˈshī adjective
( usually shi·er or shy·er -ī(ə)r, -īə ; usually shi·est or shy·est -īə̇st)
Etymology: Middle English schey, from Old English scēoh; akin to Middle High German schiech shy, Old High German sciuhen to frighten off, make timid, Swedish skygg shy, Old Slavic ščuti to chase
1.
a. : easily frightened : skittish , timid
a diminutive mouse deer, shiest of them all — Virginia Hamilton
b. : expressive of fear or timidity
fled down the forest glade with shy and subtle steps — Elinor Wylie
2. : disposed to avoid a person or thing : cautious , distrustful , suspicious
the gorilla is sullen, untamable and ferocious, shy , wary, and slow-moving — Weston La Barre
a boy is shy of a girl who does not have these proofs of efficiency — Margaret Mead
3.
a. : hesitant or chary in committing oneself in action or belief : reluctant , circumspect
not in the least shy about disclosing the secrets of their craft to the uninstructed — Listener
travellers were very shy of being confidential on a short notice — Charles Dickens
shy of assuming the moral attitude — W.S.Maugham
b. : disinclined to discuss or admit to consideration
may well be rather shy of reverting to topics that are not … yet exhausted — F.R.Leavis
very shy about the actual condition and number of the … navy — G.M.Dallas
scholars had been shy of these documents, for fear of their destroying the authority of the … text — Edmund Wilson
4.
a. : sensitively diffident or retiring : reserved , bashful
shy in the presence of strangers and bold with people she knew well — Sherwood Anderson
the boy shy and sidelong with adolescence's indecisive shames and inferiorities — Ruth Park
of a shy modesty and excessive fear of intrusion which often obscured his real … worth — H.E.Starr
b. : expressive of such reticence or bashfulness
spoke in a shy , delicate voice, hushed and bookish — Irwin Shaw
remembered her childlike look … and shy tremulous grace — Oscar Wilde
5. : withdrawn from view or notice : hidden , secluded
the shy recesses of the woodland — George Meredith
the shy , almost sly, processes of evolution — Holbrook Jackson
some shy intuition on the edge of consciousness that would disappear if looked at directly — F.R.Leavis
6.
a. : meager in growth or reproduction : unproductive
sells off his shy breeders annually
is a shy bloomer in the house — Bessie Buxton
the greengage … is a shy bearer — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox
b.
(1) : having less than the full or a specified amount or number : scant , lacking , short
looks about 10 years shy of his 62 — E.P.Snow
could get $2000 on a GI loan but would still be $6000 shy — N.M.Clark
(2) : having less money at stake than required in a game ; especially : indebted to the pot (as in poker)
7. : of a disreputable character or type
gambling hells and shy saloons — Blackwood's
Synonyms:
bashful , diffident , modest , coy : shy applies to a reserved or timid tendency to be unobtrusive, to avoid familiarity or contact with others, or to shun participation in group activity
a shy youth, uneasy with girls
the young people seemed shy, almost apprehensive. None stepped forward to greet the stranger; they seemed rather to shrink from him, whispering together in little groups — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
bashful implies a frightened or hesitant shyness, often characteristic of childhood or awkward adolescence
he became increasingly bashful, and he never had a close friend of either sex — R.J.Donovan
bashful children afraid of the guests
diffident may apply to a shyness arising from lack of confidence or distrust in one's ability or personality
a small-town youth, unsure, diffident, reaching toward friendship with noble minds, and then drawing back with an unmannerly shrug — H.S.Canby
too diffident a man to have much truck with girls — Nevil Shute
modest may indicate absence of any undue self-confidence or conceit
the board in its report cautions scientists to be modest and restrained when they step beyond their special fields in expression of opinions as citizens — Vannevar Bush
the modest procedure is not to avow loudly, not to protest too much, our love of truth — G.W.Sherburn
coy may suggest an artful or coquettish affectation of shyness and hesitation
coy, like the no's of a woman who has decided in advance to yield — James Burnham
the ladies of the chansons are not coy, and often make the first advances. Such natural lusty love is not romantic — H.O.Taylor
II. verb
( shied ; shied ; shying ; shies )
intransitive verb
1. : to develop or exhibit a sudden antipathy : shrink , recoil
here an old liberal should begin to shy ; to halt and wonder — Ernest Barker
— often used with at or from
shied at the publicity guns trained on him — Eloise Hazard
the conservative court … had shied from the idea of encouraging revolutionaries — Oscar Handlin
2. : to start suddenly aside through fright or alarm
always shied at this particular spot — Laura Krey
falls that thump the shying trout — Allen Tate
seemed to shy , white-eyed, from the figure … on the kitchen floor — Kenneth Roberts
3. : to move or dodge to evade a person or thing — usually used with away or off
does not come near to touching this point, but shies away into … misleading examples — Times Literary Supplement
candidates shied away as soon as they heard the old pastor had not been paid — R.C.Wood
you shy off me because I am not your sort — Elizabeth Bowen
and sometimes with clear
always shied clear of publicity — Fortune
transitive verb
: to fight shy of : avoid , shun
in trade it is a dangerous thing to shy danger — Isak Dinesen
Synonyms: see demur
III. noun
( -es )
Etymology: shy (II)
: a sudden start aside (as from fright)
thrown by the horse's unexpected shy
IV. verb
( shied ; shied ; shying ; shies )
Etymology: perhaps from shy (I) ; from the once popular amusement of throwing sticks or stones at cocks specially trained in wariness and ability to dodge
transitive verb
: to throw (an object) with a jerk : fling
boys who delighted in shying stones at her fowls — H.A.Overstreet
intransitive verb
: to make a sudden throw
young men … shying for coconuts — Adrian Bell
V. noun
( -es )
1. : the act of shying : toss , throw
2. : a verbal fling
took a few shies at the integrity of his opponent
3. : an experimental attempt : try
made a few shies at orchestral recording — Roland Gelatt
4. : cockshy 1a, 2a