1
as in timid
easily frightened
a shy cat who hid under the bed every time she heard any loud noise
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in withdrawn
not comfortable around people
a shy person who finds talking to anyone but a close friend to be an awkward and unpleasant experience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lacking
not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
the team is shy a couple of players because of illness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in notorious
not respectable
she was nervous about being left alone in a shy bar in a bad section of town
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shy
Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
The matchstick litanies doesn’t shy away from the ugly, painful memories of adolescence, but also revels in the soft details of her past.
—Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Cameron Crowe, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
According to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, IU regularly trailed its Big Ten brethren in annual football spending, $12 million shy of the median in 2019.
—Dana O'Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shy
Adjective
Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters did not shy away from the topic after the streamer reported earnings earlier today.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
The matchstick litanies doesn’t shy away from the ugly, painful memories of adolescence, but also revels in the soft details of her past.
—Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
Amy was very impressed by Nicolas Coppola, the quietly charismatic and extremely shy nephew of Francis Ford Coppola.
—Cameron Crowe, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
According to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, IU regularly trailed its Big Ten brethren in annual football spending, $12 million shy of the median in 2019.
—Dana O'Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shy
Adjective
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Johnson looked timid, unsure against the Warriors, and his shot reflected the lack of confidence.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
24 Oct. 2025
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The students and scholars nurtured in this ancient way will not be timid.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Set in Taiwan in 1988, Girl revolves around Hsiao-lee, a quiet and withdrawn girl, growing up in silent gloom.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
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Unfortunately, further discussions were heated, with no resolve, just more withdrawn behavior while the communications continued.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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And the flick, based on Hoover’s bestselling novel, lays it on thick alongside a lacking narrative and cringey dialogue.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
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The other aspect of this Bills team is the lacking defense, which has always been a major problem for the team.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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She was joined by her older sister, Bennett, 2, who is notorious for her antics around the Kelce home.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
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The 'Teflon Don' and the Gambino 'Crime Family' The Gambinos and their onetime leader John Gotti – aka the Dapper Don and the Teflon Don – are perhaps the most notorious of the five New York crime families and the one most closely mimicked by a slew of Hollywood TV shows and movies.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Snakes must move incredibly quickly to sink their fangs into prey before the victim flinches.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
23 Oct. 2025
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Other reptile species in the same room didn’t flinch.—
Clarissa Brincat,
Scientific American,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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At times, the new mom gets bashful about the attention she’s received since returning to the team.—
Sean Neumann,
PEOPLE,
3 Oct. 2025
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Livestreaming isn’t the same as actually being there and seeing the fabric flow, the textures, the audience reaction and the bashful designer with their head down, forced onto the runway at the end of each show.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The organization’s Green Heart Project, which studies the impact of better air quality on heart disease through urban greening, has found that increasing the number of trees and shrubs in an area can create lower levels of a blood marker associated with inflammation.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 Oct. 2025
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Here is Carreras profiting from that exact ploy while playing for Benfica against Barcelona in the Champions League last season, sneaking forward on the far side before receiving the switch and hammering a low cross into striker Vangelis Pavlidis to score.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The infamous two-part operation, which killed more than 40 people and injured another 3,400, was condemned by Lebanon, the United Nations and human rights NGOs, but also intrigued the world for its ingenuity.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
28 Oct. 2025
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On Tuesday, Rio de Janeiro’s governor claimed the operation in Alemão was larger than an infamous, protracted security crisis the neighborhood experienced in 2010.—
Gonzalo Zegarra,
CNN Money,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shy. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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