Definitions for: Shy


[n] a quick throw; "he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman"
[adj] wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things; "shy of strangers"
[adj] easily startled or frightened
[adj] lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid responses"; "a very unsure young man"
[v] throw quickly
[v] start suddenly, as from fight



Webster (1913) Definition: Shy, a.
Inadequately supplied; short; lacking; as, the team is shy
two players. [Slang]


Shy (sh[imac]), a. [Compar. Shier (-[~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.

The horses of the army . . . were no longer shy, but
would come up to my very feet without starting.
--Swift.

2. Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.

What makes you so shy, my good friend? There's
nobody loves you better than I. --Arbuthnot.

The embarrassed look of shy distress And maidenly
shamefacedness. --Wordsworth.

3. Cautious; wary; suspicious.

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

Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of
thier successors. --Sir H.
Wotton.

To fight shy. See under Fight, v. i.


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.


Shy, v. t.
To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone;
to shy a slipper. --T. Hughes.


Shy, n.
1. A sudden start aside, as by a horse.

2. A side throw; a throw; a fling. --Thackeray.

If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must,
it seems, have a shy at somebody. --Punch.

Synonyms: diffident, timid, unconfident, unsure, wary

See Also: jump, start, startle, throw, throw

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