shyness

shy ¹  (sh)

adj. shi·er (shr) or shy·er, shi·est (shst) or shy·est

1. Easily startled; timid.

2.

a. Drawing back from contact or familiarity with others; retiring or reserved.

b. Marked by reserve or diffidence: a shy glance.

3. Distrustful; wary: shy of strangers.

4. Not having paid an amount due, as one's ante in poker.

5. Short; lacking: Eleven is one shy of a dozen.

intr.v. shied (shd), shy·ing, shies (shz)

1. To move suddenly, as if startled; start.

2. To draw back, as from fear or caution; recoil.

n. pl. shies (shz)

A sudden movement, as from fright; a start.

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[Middle English schey, from Old English scoh.]

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shyer n.

shyly adv.

shyness n.

Synonyms: shy¹, bashful, diffident, modest, coy, demure
These adjectives mean not forward but marked by a retiring nature, reticence, or a reserve of manner. One who is shy draws back from others, either because of a withdrawn nature or out of timidity: "The poor man was shy and hated society" (George Bernard Shaw).
Bashful suggests self-consciousness or awkwardness in the presence of others: "I never laughed, being bashful./Lowering my head, I looked at the wall" (Ezra Pound).
Diffident implies lack of self-confidence: He was too diffident to express his opinion.
Modest is associated with an unassertive nature and absence of vanity or pretension: Despite her fame she remained a modest, unassuming person.
Coy usually implies feigned, often flirtatious shyness: "yielded with coy submission" (John Milton).
Demure often denotes an affected shyness or modesty: Her assistant nodded in agreement, flashing a demure smile.

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shy ²  (sh)

v. shied (shd), shy·ing, shies (shz)

v.tr.

To throw (something) with a swift motion; fling.

v.intr.

To throw something with a swift motion.

n. pl. shies (shz)

1. A quick throw; a fling.

2. Informal A gibe; a sneer.

3. Informal An attempt; a try.

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[Perhaps from shy.]

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Shyness 

See Also: MEEKNESS, PERSONAL TRAITS

1. Bashful as an egg at Easter —Sir John Denham

   This has expanded with the seasons to include “Bashful as a turkey at Thanksgiving or Christmas.”

2. Demure as an African violet —Maya Angelou
3. Demure as an old whore at a christening —Thomas Fuller
4. Demure as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth —Thomas Fuller
5. Shy as a squirrel —George Meredith
6. Shy as infants —Alice McDermott
7. Shy as rabbits —Anon
8. Shy, like a hospitable country hostess anxious to give pleasure, but afraid that she has not much to offer citizens of a larger world —Phyllis Bottome
9. A shy man men is as a lonely man … between him and his fellowmen there runs an impossible barrier … a strong invisible wall —Jerome K. Jerome

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

shyness - a feeling of fear of embarrassment   timidity, timidness, timorousness - fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions

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shyness

noun timidity, self-consciousness, bashfulness, modesty, nervousness, lack of confidence, reticence, diffidence, timorousness, mousiness, timidness Eventually he overcame his shyness.

Translations

shyness [ˈʃaɪnɪs] N [of person, smile] → timidez f; [of animal] → lo asustadizo

shyness [ˈʃaɪnɪs] n → timidité f

shyness

n → Schüchternheit f; (esp of animals) → Scheu f; his shyness at meeting people → seine Schüchternheit, wenn er andere Leute kennenlernt; her shyness of strangers → ihre Scheu vor Fremden

shyness [ˈʃaɪnɪs] n → timidezza