Shy — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a quick throw

start suddenly, as from fright

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ʃˈaɪ/

🇬🇧British English

/ʃˈaɪ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ʃˈaɪ/

1 syllable Say it as /ʃˈaɪ/.

Examples

he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman
stood in the doorway diffident and abashed
problems that call for bold not timid responses

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

unsure diffident timid

Antonyms

confident

Parts of Speech

noun	a quick throw “he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman”
verb	start suddenly, as from fright
verb	throw quickly
adjective	lacking self-confidence “stood in the doorway diffident and abashed”
adjective	short “eleven is one shy of a dozen”
adjective	wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things “shy of strangers”

Word Forms

shy	verb	throw quickly
shy	noun	a quick throw
diffidence	noun	lack of self-confidence
shyness	noun	a feeling of fear of embarrassment
timidness	noun	fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

schüchtern

ein schneller Wurf

🇫🇷French

timide

un lancer rapide

🇪🇸Spanish

tímido

un tiro rápido

🇮🇹Italian

Timido

un tiro veloce

🇳🇱Dutch

verlegen

een snelle worp

🇵🇹Portuguese

tímido

um lance rápido

🇷🇺Russian

застенчивый

быстрый бросок

India

🇮🇳Hindi

शर्मीला

एक त्वरित फेंक

🇧🇩Bengali

লাজুক

একটি দ্রুত নিক্ষেপ

🇮🇳Tamil

வெட்கப்படுபவர்

ஒரு விரைவான வீசுதல்

🇮🇳Telugu

పిరికి

ఒక శీఘ్ర త్రో

🇮🇳Marathi

लाजाळू

एक द्रुत फेक

🇮🇳Gujarati

શરમાળ

ઝડપી ફેંકવું

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಾಚಿಕೆ

ತ್ವರಿತ ಎಸೆತ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ലജ്ജയുള്ള

ഒരു പെട്ടെന്നുള്ള എറിയൽ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸ਼ਰਮੀਲਾ

ਇੱਕ ਤੇਜ਼ ਸੁੱਟ

🇵🇰Urdu

شرمیلی

ایک فوری پھینک

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

害羞的

快速投掷

🇯🇵Japanese

シャイ

素早い投げ

🇰🇷Korean

수줍은

빠른 던지기

🇻🇳Vietnamese

xấu hổ

cú ném nhanh

🇹🇭Thai

อาย

โยนอย่างรวดเร็ว

🇮🇩Indonesian

malu

lemparan cepat

🇵🇭Filipino

nahihiya

isang mabilis na paghagis

🇲🇾Malay

pemalu

lontaran pantas

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

خجول

رمية سريعة

🇮🇷Persian

خجالتی

پرتاب سریع

🇹🇷Turkish

utangaç

hızlı atış

🇮🇱Hebrew

ביישן

זריקה מהירה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'shy'?

The primary meaning of 'shy' is 'a quick throw'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'shy' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'shy' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'shy' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'shy' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'shy' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'shy' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'shy' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'shy' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'shy' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'shy' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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