shy

Word family  noun shyness adjective shy verb shy adverb shyly

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++shy1 /ʃaɪ/ ●●○ adjective (comparative shyer, superlative shyest)  1  SHYnervous and embarrassed about meeting and speaking to other people, especially people you do not know 羞怯的，腼腆的〔尤指在陌生人面前〕 He was a quiet shy man. 他是个话不多、害羞的男人。shy with She was very shy with strangers. 她在陌生人面前很害羞。 a shy smile 羞怯的微笑 As a teenager, I was painfully shy (=extremely shy). 我十几岁时害羞得很。shy to do something He was too shy to come and sit by me in class. 他胆子太小，上课都不敢过来坐在我身边。go all shy British English (=to suddenly become very shy) 突然变得很害羞 Oh, have you gone all shy, Jenny? 噢，珍妮，你害羞啦？► see thesaurus at confident2  somebody is not shy about (doing) something used to emphasize that someone is very willing to do something or get involved with something 某人很意做某事 John has strong opinions and he’s not shy about sharing them. 约翰有鲜明的观点，而且他也不忌讳将这些观点与他人分享。3  WILLING#unwilling to do something or get involved in something 不意的be shy about/of (doing) something Employees are urged not to be shy about reporting incidents of sexual harassment. 员工被力对性骚扰事件不要羞于启齿。4  be shy (of something) especially American EnglishENOUGH#LESS to have less than a particular amount of something 不足，未达到（…的）所需数量 The Democrats are three votes shy of a majority. 民主党离多数票还差三票。 Jessica died Monday. She was one week shy of her 13th birthday. 杰茜卡是星期一死的，还有一个星期就是她的13岁生日。5  used to say that someone does not like something and therefore tries to avoid it 不喜欢…的，回避的 Although publicity-shy, he recently agreed to be interviewed. 虽然他不喜欢抛头露面，但最近还是同意接受采访。 → camera-shy, work-shy6  FRIGHTENEDshy animals get frightened easily and are unwilling to come near people 〔动物〕易受惊的，不近人的，胆小的 SYN timid Deer are shy creatures. 鹿是胆小的动物。 —shyly adverb He grinned shyly. 他害羞地咧嘴一笑。 —shyness noun [uncountable] I overcame my shyness. 我克服了羞怯感。 → fight shy of (doing) something at fight1(22), → once bitten, twice shy at bite1(14) THESAURUSbashful shy and not willing to say very much 腼腆的,羞怯的,忸怩的self-conscious worried and embarrassed about what you look like or what other people think of you 〔因顾虑自己的外表或他人的看法而〕忸怩的,害羞的timid not brave or confident 胆小的,胆怯的reserved not liking to express your emotions or talk about your problems 矜持的,拘谨的,含蓄的introverted thinking a lot about your own interests, problems etc, and not liking to be with other people 性格内向的withdrawn quiet and not wanting to talk to other people, especially because you are unhappy 〔尤因不开心而〕沉默寡言的antisocial not liking to meet people and talk to them 不爱交际的,离群的retiring formal not wanting to be with other people 爱独处的

Examples from the Corpus

shy• Perhaps his anxiety leads him to be excessively shy and almost apologise for his existence.• Most are Type A personalities, very outgoing, although a few are very shy and express themselves through their cars.• I think it will succeed although it will take ages, for he is fearfully shy, and I am likewise affected.• David was always rather quiet and shy at school.• Carl is a very quiet, shy boy.• You may be shy, but good oral communications are a key business skill.• He was painfully shy in public, but completely different at home with his family.• We follow the railroad tracks a half-mile east of downtown, just shy of the train tunnel.• A shy smile hinted that he did not entirely regret it.• Carrie looked up at him and gave him a shy smile.• Look, she's gone all shy - stop teasing her.• I was too shy to ask her out on a date.• He was too shy to come sit by me in class.• Because little Danny spent all his time with his mother, he was rather shy with men.painfully shy• A lonely genius, painfully shy.• I am considered to be fairly outgoing but as a teenager I was painfully shy.• The result was that I was painfully shy.• He was painfully shy as a teenager.• From being a painfully shy, diffident recluse, he suddenly metamorphosed into a garrulous and sometimes painfully overbearing extrovert.• I retreated into my shell, being painfully shy in the first place.• Riddlesberger is particularly engaging as a painfully shy techno-nerd.be shy about/of (doing) something• You made the supreme sacrifice of your life for your work last night, so don't be shy about admitting it.• The company is shy of discussing its product in any detail before its formal unveiling in the next few weeks.• We must also avoid branch meetings seem like a gathering of old chums into which an outsider might be shy of intruding.• I was shy about meeting the man who had come to visit.• I was shy about meeting well-known writers people whose names were printed black on white.• People who are shy of speaking out in front of all the other governors may feel more confident in a sub-committee.• Avoid quiches, pasties and meat pies, but don't be shy of the ubiquitous baked potato.• I was shy of undressing in front of adults.shy creatures• This simple test showed that all mankind was one; but it was difficult to do with exotic or shy creatures.• These shy creatures may sometimes be seen and have been known to stray on to the road, startling passing motorists.• In the main they are shy creatures, though their speed, strength and agility demand a healthy respect.

Related topics: Horses

shy2 verb (shied, shying, shies) [intransitive]  1 DSHBACK/BACKWARDSif a horse shies, it makes a sudden movement away from something because it is frightened 〔马〕惊退，惊跳 The horse shied, throwing Darrel from his saddle. 那马惊跳起来，把达雷尔从马鞍上掀了下去。2 shy away from something phrasal verb AVOIDto avoid doing or dealing with something because you are not confident enough or you are worried or nervous about it 〔因缺乏信心、担心或紧张而〕回避，避开 They criticized the leadership, but shied away from a direct challenge. 他们批评领导层，但又不敢当面质疑。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

shy• There are some horses who are really just avoiding working by shying at everything.• Being asked to go on a committee may be something we tend to shy away from at first.• Agencies without a clear-cut wartime role will shy away from conflicts.• This does not mean that we shall shy away from tackling difficult subjects that may cause offence.• Yet science has consistently shied away from the task.• These memories are still quite fresh, and Clevelanders do not shy away from them.shy3  n1.coconut shy noun (plural coconut shies) [countable] British English   

Related topics: Leisure

DLan outdoor game in which you try to knock coconuts off posts by throwing balls at themOrigin shy1 Old English sceoh

shy1 adjective →THESAURUS1shy2 verbshy3LDOCE OnlineChinese  

meeting and embarrassed other to nervous and speaking especially about people, Corpus

shy

I

shy¹ /ʃaɪ/ adjective (comparative shyer, superlative shyest)1. nervous and embarrassed about meeting and speaking to other people, especially people you do not know:
    He was a quiet shy man.
    shy with
    She was very shy with strangers.
    a shy smile
    As a teenager, I was painfully shy (=extremely shy).
    shy to do something
    He was too shy to come and sit by me in class.
    go all shy British English (=to suddenly become very shy)
    Oh, have you gone all shy, Jenny?
2. somebody is not shy about (doing) something used to emphasize that someone is very willing to do something or get involved with something:
    John has strong opinions and he’s not shy about sharing them.
3. unwilling to do something or get involved in something
    be shy about/of (doing) something
    Employees are urged not to be shy about reporting incidents of sexual harassment.
4. be shy (of something) especially American English to have less than a particular amount of something:
    The Democrats are three votes shy of a majority.
    Jessica died Monday. She was one week shy of her 13th birthday.
5. used to say that someone does not like something and therefore tries to avoid it:
    Although publicity-shy, he recently agreed to be interviewed. ⇨ camera-shy, work-shy
6. shy animals get frightened easily and are unwilling to come near people
   SYN  timid:
    Deer are shy creatures.
—shyly adverb:
    He grinned shyly.
—shyness noun [uncountable]:
    I overcame my shyness.
⇨ fight shy of (doing) something at fight¹(22), ⇨ once bitten, twice shy at bite¹(14)
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ bashful shy and not willing to say very much
   ▪ self-conscious worried and embarrassed about what you look like or what other people think of you
   ▪ timid not brave or confident
   ▪ reserved not liking to express your emotions or talk about your problems
   ▪ introverted thinking a lot about your own interests, problems etc, and not liking to be with other people
   ▪ withdrawn quiet and not wanting to talk to other people, especially because you are unhappy
   ▪ antisocial not liking to meet people and talk to them
   ▪ retiring formal not wanting to be with other people

II

shy² verb (past tense and past participle shied, present participle shying, third person singular shies) [intransitive]if a horse shies, it makes a sudden movement away from something because it is frightened:
    The horse shied, throwing Darrel from his saddle.
     
shy away from something phrasal verb
  to avoid doing or dealing with something because you are not confident enough or you are worried or nervous about it:
    They criticized the leadership, but shied away from a direct challenge.

III

shy³
⇨ coconut shy