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shy - 20 thesaurus results
| Main Entry: | shy |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | quiet and self-conscious |
| Synonyms: | afraid, apprehensive, averse, backward, bashful, cautious, chary, circumspect, conscious, coy, demure, diffident, disinclined, distrustful, fearful, hesitant, humble, indisposed, introvert, introverted, loath, loner, modest, nervous, recessive, reluctant, reserved, reticent, retiring, shamefaced, sheepish, shrinking, skittish, suspicious, timid, unresponsive, unwilling, wary, self-effacing, unassertive, unassured, uneager, uneffusive, unsocial |
| Antonyms: | confident, extroverted, unreserved, unashamed, unshy |
| Main Entry: | shy |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | lacking, failing |
| Synonyms: | deficient, inadequate, insufficient, scanty, scarce, short, wanting, scant, unsufficient |
| Antonyms: | adequate, enough, sufficient |
| Main Entry: | ashamed |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | regretting, remorseful |
| Synonyms: | abashed, apologetic, bashful, blushing, conscience-stricken, contrite, crestfallen, debased, disconcerted, distraught, distressed, embarrassed, guilty, hesitant, humble, humiliated, meek, muddled, penitent, regretful, reluctant, repentant, shamed, shamefaced, sheepish, shy, sorry, submissive, chagrined, compunctious, demeaned, discomfited, flustered, humbled, mortified, stammering, stuttering |
| Antonyms: | bold, defiant, immodest, shameless, not sorry, unregretful, unremorseful, unself-conscious |
| Main Entry: | avoid |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | refrain or stay away from; prevent |
| Synonyms: | abstain, avert, bypass, circumvent, deflect, desist, ditch, divert, dodge, duck, elude, escape, eschew, evade, fend off, flee, hide, jump, obviate, recoil, shake, shake off, shirk, shun, shy, sidestep, skip*, skirt*, weave, withdraw, circumlocute, fake out, give the slip, hold off, keep clear, lay low*, run for cover, shake and bake, shrink from, shuffle off, skip out on, skip town, stay away, stay out, steer clear of, step aside, turn aside, ward off |
| Notes: | avert means 'prevent, turn away' and avoid means 'stay clear of, shun' |
| Antonyms: | face, meet, seek, want |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | careful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | cautious; painstaking |
| Synonyms: | accurate, alert, apprehensive, assiduous, attentive, chary, choosy, circumspect, concerned, conscientious, conservative, cool, deliberate, discreet, exacting, fastidious, finicky, fussy, guarded, heedful, judicious, leery, meticulous, mindful, observant, particular, precise, prim, protective, provident, prudent, punctilious, regardful, religious, rigorous, scrupulous, shy, sober, solicitous, solid, thorough, thoughtful, vigilant, wary, going to great lengths, playing safe, selfdisciplined |
| Antonyms: | careless, inattentive, incautious, thoughtless, unconcerned, unscrupulous, uncareful |
| Main Entry: | chuck |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | throw aside, throw away, throw out |
| Synonyms: | abandon, can, cast, desert, discard, ditch, eighty-six*, eject, fire, fling, flip, forsake, heave, hurl, jettison, junk, launch, pitch, quit, reject, relinquish, renounce, scrap, shed, shy, sling, toss, give the heave ho, slough |
| Antonyms: | keep |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | cowardly |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fearful |
| Synonyms: | afraid, anxious, apprehensive, backward, base, caitiff, craven, dastardly, diffident, fainthearted, frightened, gutless, jittery, lily-livered*, nervous, paper tiger*, pusillanimous, recreant, retiring, scared, shrinking, shy, soft*, spineless*, timid, timorous, weak, worthless, yellow*, chicken-hearted, cowering, cowhearted, dismayed, having the willies, lacking courage, no guts, panicky, pigeonhearted, running scared, weak-kneed, yellow-bellied |
| Antonyms: | bold, brave, courageous, daring, dauntless, unafraid, undaunted, unfearful |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | coy |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | very modest |
| Synonyms: | backward, bashful, blushing, demure, diffident, evasive, flirtatious, humble, kittenish, prudish, reserved, retiring, shrinking, shy, skittish, timid, coquettish, overmodest, rabbity, self-effacing, unassertive |
| Antonyms: | aggressive, forward, immodest, impudent, unshy |
| Main Entry: | cringe |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | flinch, recoil from danger |
| Synonyms: | cower, crawl, crouch, dodge, draw back, duck, grovel, kneel, quail, quiver, shrink, shy, start, stoop, tremble, wince, blench, eat dirt |
| Antonyms: | come forward |
| Main Entry: | deficient |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | imperfect, inadequate |
| Synonyms: | amiss, bad, damaged, defective, exiguous, faulty, impaired, incomplete, inferior, infrequent, injured, insufficient, lacking, meager, rare, scanty*, scarce, second fiddle*, second string, short, shy, sketchy, skimpy, unequal, unfinished, unsatisfactory, wanting, weak, flawed, found wanting, marred, not cut out for, not enough, not make it, not up to scratch, outta gas, scant, third string, unassembled |
| Antonyms: | adequate, ample, enough, excessive, faultless, flawless, perfect, satisfactory, sufficient, superfluous |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | deflect |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bounce off; turn aside |
| Synonyms: | avert, bend, curve, deviate, disperse, diverge, divert, fend, hook, parry, pivot, ricochet, sheer, shy, sidetrack, slip, swerve, twist, veer, wheel, whip, whirl, wind, cover up, glance off, hold off, keep off, slew, volte-face |
| Main Entry: | demur |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | disagree |
| Synonyms: | balk, cavil, challenge, combat, complain, deprecate, disapprove, dispute, doubt, fight, hem and haw*, hesitate, object, oppose, pause, protest, pussyfoot*, refuse, remonstrate, resist, scruple, shy, stick, strain, vacillate, wait and see*, waver, stickle, take exception |
| Antonyms: | accept, agree, consent, go along |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | demure |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | reserved, affected |
| Synonyms: | backward, bashful, blushing, close, coy, decorous, diffident, earnest, humble, modest, nice, prim, prissy, proper, prudish, reticent, retiring, sedate, serious, shy, silent, skittish, sober, solemn, staid, strait-laced, timid, unassuming, unassertive, unassured |
| Antonyms: | aggressive, bold, extroverted, outgoing, shameless, strong |
| Main Entry: | deviate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | stray from normal path |
| Synonyms: | avert, bend, contrast, deflect, depart, differ, digress, divagate, diverge, drift, err, part, shy, swerve, turn, vary, veer, wander, aberrate, angle off, bear off, bend the rules, break pattern, circumlocate, depart from, edge off, get around, go amiss, go haywire, go off on tangent, go out of control, go out of way, leave beaten path, not conform, swim against stream, take a turn, turn aside |
| Antonyms: | go straight, keep, stay |
| Main Entry: | diffident |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hesitant; unconfident |
| Synonyms: | backward, bashful, chary, coy, demure, distrustful, doubtful, dubious, humble, insecure, meek, modest, mousy, reluctant, reserved, retiring, self-conscious, sheepish, shrinking, shy, suspicious, timid, timorous, unassuming, unobtrusive, unsure, withdrawn, blenching, constrained, flinching, rabbity, self-effacing, unassertive, unassured, unpoised |
| Antonyms: | bold, confident |
| Main Entry: | disinclined |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unwilling |
| Synonyms: | afraid, antipathetic, averse, backward, doubtful, dubious, hesitating, indisposed, loath, opposed, reluctant, resistant, shy, slow, unsympathetic, balking, not in the mood, objecting, protesting, shying, sticking, uneager |
| Antonyms: | bent, desirous, disposed, enthusiastic, inclined, leaning, willing |
| Main Entry: | dissent |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | disagree |
| Synonyms: | argue, balk, break with, buck, contradict, decline, demur, differ, discord, divide, object, oppose, protest, refuse, shy, vary, wrangle, disaccord, fly in the face of, pettifog, put up a fight, put up an argument, say no way, say not a chance, say nothing doing, stickle |
| Antonyms: | agree, approve, assent, authorize, concur, consent, endorse, ratify, sanction |
| Main Entry: | duck |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | drop down; avoid |
| Synonyms: | bend, bob, bow, crouch, dip, dive, dodge, double, elude, escape, evade, fence, lower, lurch, parry, plunge, shirk, shun, shy, sidestep, stoop, submerge, move to side |
| Antonyms: | face, jump, meet |
| Main Entry: | elude |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid; escape |
| Synonyms: | baffle, bilk, circumvent, confound, cop out*, ditch, dodge, double, duck, eschew, evade, flee, fly, foil, frustrate, hem and haw*, outrun, outwit, pass the buck*, puzzle, shirk, shuck, shun, shy, stall, stonewall*, stump, thwart, be beyond someone, beat around the bush, get around, get away from, give the runaround, give the slip, give wide berth to, not touch, pass up, run around, stay shy of, steer clear of |
| Antonyms: | attract, confront, encounter, entice, face, invite, meet, take on |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | elusive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | evasive, mysterious |
| Synonyms: | ambiguous, baffling, cagey, deceitful, deceptive, equivocal, evanescent, fallacious, fleeting, fraudulent, fugitive, greasy, illusory, incomprehensible, insubstantial, intangible, misleading, occult, phantom, puzzling, shifty, shy, slippery, subtle, transient, transitory, tricky, volatile, difficult to catch, elusory, fugacious, imponderable, indefinable, stonewalling, unspecific |
| Antonyms: | confronting, facing, inviting, attracting, encountering, enticing |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.

