shy

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. bashful, reserved, retiring, demure; cautious, suspicious, wary; timid, skittish, fearful; short, lacking. See modesty, fear, incompleteness. Ant., forward, brash, incautious. —v. start, recoil. See deviation, fear.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. retiring, timorous, bashful, modest, demure, diffident; see also humble 1 , 2 .

• fight shy of*,

Syn. avoid, keep from, shun, evade; see avoid .

Syn.- shy implies a shrinking from the notice of others and a reticence in approaching them; bashful implies such shyness as is displayed in awkward behavior and embarrassed timidity; diffident implies a lack of self-confidence that makes one reluctant to assert oneself; modest implies a reserved, unassuming manner in one who, because of ability, achievements, etc. might be expected to assert himself or herself strongly and often suggests moderation in behavior, speech, dress, etc.; demure , in current usage, suggests a decorously modest manner, often one that is affectedly so

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

1. bashful self-conscious, backward, reticent, retiring, diffident, reserved, a wallflower, ill-at-ease, nervous, self-effacing, coy, demure, shrinking, introverted, modest, humble, schizoid, quiet.

2. lacking short, under, deficient.

ANT.: 1. loud, overbearing, overconfident, bold, brash. 2. replete, abundant

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb To draw away involuntarily, usually out of fear or disgust: blench1, cringe, flinch, quail, recoil, shrink, start, wince. See APPROACH, SEEK. II noun An act of throwing: cast, fling, heave, hurl, launch, pitch, sling, throw, toss. See MOVE.

V

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. Not forward but reticent or reserved in manner: backward, bashful, coy, demure, diffident, modest, retiring, self-effacing, timid. See RESTRAINT. 2. Not enough to meet a demand or requirement: deficient, inadequate, insufficient, scarce, short, under, wanting. See BIG, EXCESS.

VI

(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb To send through the air with a motion of the hand or arm: cast, dart, dash, fling, heave, hurl, hurtle, launch, pitch, shoot, sling, throw, toss. Informal: fire. See MOVE.