shy

Noun · Verb · Adjective
Synonyms: diffidenttimidunsureshy(p)

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. a quick throw“he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman”

Verb (2)

  1. start suddenly, as from fright
  2. throw quickly

Adjective (3)

  1. lacking self-confidence“stood in the doorway diffident and abashed”“problems that call for bold not timid responses”“a very unsure young man”Synonyms: diffidenttimidunsure
  2. short“eleven is one shy of a dozen”Synonyms: shy(p)
  3. wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things“shy of strangers”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Shy \Shy\ (sh[imac]), a. [Compar. Shier (sh[imac]"[~e]r) or Shyer; superl. Shiest or Shyest.] [OE. schey, skey, sceouh, AS. sce['o]h; akin to Dan. sky, Sw. skygg, D. schuw, MHG. schiech, G. scheu, OHG. sciuhen to be or make timid. Cf. Eschew.]

1.Easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird. [1913 Webster]

The horses of the army . . . were no longer shy, but would come up to my very feet without starting.— Swift.[1913 Webster]

2.Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach. [1913 Webster]

What makes you so shy, my good friend? There's nobody loves you better than I.— Arbuthnot.[1913 Webster]
The embarrassed look of shy distress And maidenly shamefacedness.— Wordsworth.[1913 Webster]

3.Cautious; wary; suspicious. [1913 Webster]

I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the preparation of medicines.— Boyle.[1913 Webster]
Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of thier successors.— Sir H. Wotton.[1913 Webster]

4.Inadequately supplied; short; lacking; as, the team is shy two players.[Slang] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

5.(Poker), owing money to the pot; -- in cases where an opponent's bet has exceeded a player's available stake or chips, but the player chooses to continue playing the hand before adding the required bet to the pot. [Slang] [PJC]

To fight shy. See under Fight, v. i. [1913 Webster]

Shy \Shy\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Shied; p. pr. & vb. n. Shying.] [From Shy, a.] To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses. [1913 Webster]
Shy \Shy\, v. t. To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper. --T. Hughes. [1913 Webster]
Shy \Shy\, n.

1.A sudden start aside, as by a horse. [1913 Webster]

2.A side throw; a throw; a fling. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]

If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must, it seems, have a shy at somebody.— Punch.[1913 Webster]
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