Definitions for shy
ʃaɪshy

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shyadjective

   a quick throw

   "he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman"

2. diffident, shy, timid, unsureadjective

   lacking self-confidence

   "stood in the doorway diffident and abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid responses"; "a very unsure young man"

3. shy(p)adjective

   short

   "eleven is one shy of a dozen"

4. shyverb

   wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things

   "shy of strangers"

5. shyverb

   start suddenly, as from fright

6. shyverb

   throw quickly

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. shynoun

   act of throwing

2. shynoun

   place for throwing

   coconut shy

3. shyverb

   To avoid due to timidness or caution.

   I shy away from investment opportunities I don't understand.

4. shyverb

   To jump back in fear.

   The horse shied away from the rider, which startled him so much he shied away from the horse.

5. shyverb

   to throw a ball or other missile at a target

6. shyadjective

   Easily frightened; timid.

   a shy bird.

7. shyadjective

   Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach.

   He is very shy with strangers.

8. shyadjective

   Cautious; wary; suspicious.

9. shyadjective

   Short, insufficient or less than.

10. shyadjective

    Embarrassed.

11. Etymology: From shy, from sceoh, from skiuhwaz. Cognate with schuw, scheu, sky.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. SHYadjective

   Etymology: schowe, Dutch; schifo, Italian.

   1. Reserved; not familiar; not free of behaviour.

   She is represented in such a shy retiring posture, and covers her bosom with one of her hands. Joseph Addison, Guardian.

   What makes you so shy, my good friend? There’s no body loves you better than I. John Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull.

   2. Cautious; wary; chary.

   I am very shy of employing corrosive liquors in the preparation of medicines. Boyle.

   We are not shy of assent to celestial informations, because they were hid from ages. Joseph Glanvill, Sceps.

   We grant, although he had much wit,
   H’ was very shy of using it,
   As being loth to wear it out,
   And therefore bore it not about. Hudibras.

   3. Keeping at a distance; unwilling to approach.

   A shy fellow was the duke; and, I believe, I know the cause of his withdrawing. William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure.

   The bruise imposthumated, and afterwards turned to a stinking ulcer, which made every body shy to come near her. John Arbuthnot, History of John Bull.

   The horses of the army, having been daily led before me, were no longer shy, but would come up to my very feet, without starting. Gulliver’s Travels.

   But when we come to seize th’ inviting prey,
   Like a shy ghost, it vanishes away. John Norris.

   4. Suspicious; jealous; unwilling to suffer near acquaintance.

   Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of their successors; and there may be supposed in queens regnant a little proportion of tenderness that way more than in kings. Henry Wotton.

   I know you shy to be oblig’d,
   And still more loth to be oblig’d by me. Thomas Southerne.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shy

   Shy is an adjective describing a person with shyness.　Shyness as a characteristic of infant children is covered at stranger anxiety.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shy

   Shy refers to a characteristic or behavior in individuals who feel uncomfortable, nervous, or timid around other people, typically due to lack of confidence or fear of judgement. Such individuals often prefer solitary activities and typically avoid social gatherings or interactions.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shy

   easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird

2. Shy

   reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach

3. Shy

   cautious; wary; suspicious

4. Shyadjective

   to start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses

5. Shyverb

   to throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper

6. Shynoun

   a sudden start aside, as by a horse

7. Shynoun

   a side throw; a throw; a fling

8. Etymology: [OE. schey, skey, sceouh, AS. sceh; akin to Dan. sky, Sw. skygg, D. schuw, MHG. schiech, G. scheu, OHG. sciuhen to be or make timid. Cf. Eschew.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shy

   Shy are a British metal band formed in 1980 under the name "Trojan", hailing from Birmingham, England.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shy

   shī, adj. timid: reserved: cautious: suspicious: elusive, hard to find.—v.i. to start aside, as a horse from fear.—v.t. to avoid:—pa.t. and pa.p. shīed.—n. a sudden swerving aside.—advs. Shy′ly, Shi′ly.—ns. Shy′ness, Shī′ness (obs.); Shy′ster, a tricky lawyer.—Fight shy of (see Fight); Look shy at, or on, to regard with distrust. [A.S. sceóh; Ger. scheu, Dan. sky.]

2. Shy

   shī, v.t. to fling, throw, toss.—v.i. to jerk.—n. a throw, a fling: a gibe, sneer: a trial.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shy

   Song lyrics by shy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by shy on the Lyrics.com website.

2. SHY

   What does SHY stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the SHY acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. SHY

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Shy is ranked #15090 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Shy surname appeared 1,955 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Shy.
   
   51.3% or 1,004 total occurrences were White.
   39% or 764 total occurrences were Black.
   4.1% or 82 total occurrences were Asian.
   2.2% or 44 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   1.8% or 37 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.2% or 24 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

1. • Start
   • Throw

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'shy' in Adjectives Frequency: #976

How to pronounce shy?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say shy in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of shy in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of shy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of shy in a Sentence

1. Avril Haines:

   The DNI must never shy away from speaking truth to power — even, especially, when doing so may be inconvenient or difficult, the DNI must insist that, when it comes to intelligence, there is simply no place for politics — ever.

2. David Roth:

   Alberto has maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour (105 km per hour) which is about 10 miles (16 km) shy of being a hurricane. This is definitely a dangerous storm.

3. Joseph Minott:

   It does not surprise me at this point the government - once bitten, twice shy - is not rushing to the rescue again.

4. Yoshiaki Harada:

   Everyone has agreed that we should not shy away from taking the matter to an international arbitration court and starting preparation for that step should be considered.

5. President Barack Obama:

   I want us to be able, when we walk out this door, to say we couldn't think of anything else that we didn't try to do. That we didn't shy away from a challenge because it was hard. That we weren't timid or got tired or somehow thinking about the next thing, because there is no next thing, this is it.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=shy
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Shy
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=shy
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shy
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shy
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=shy
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=shy
9. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html