Nearby Words
| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | shy |
| Synonyms: | afraid, ambivalent, apprehensive, badgered, bashful, browbeaten, bullied, capricious, cowardly, cowed, cowering, coy, daunted, demure, diffident, fainthearted, fearful, feeble, frightened, gentle, having cold feet, humble, intimidated, irresolute, milquetoast, modest, mousy, nervous, pusillanimous, retiring, shaky, shrinking, soft, spineless, spiritless, submissive, timid, timorous, trembling, unassertive, unassured, unnerved, vacillating, wavering, weak, yellow* |
| Notes: | timid is used of a person's character or disposition; timorous is used of a person's action or behavior |
| Antonyms: | bold, brave, daring, extroverted, fearless |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | backward |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | bashful |
| Synonyms: | afraid, averse, demure, diffident, disinclined, hesitant, hesitating, humble, indisposed, late, loath, modest, reluctant, reserved, retiring, shy, sluggish, tardy, timid, uneager, unwilling, wavering |
| Antonyms: | aggressive, forward, precocious, unshy |
| Main Entry: | bashful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | shy |
| Synonyms: | abashed, backward, blushful, blushing, chary, confused, constrained, coy, demure, diffident, embarrassed, humble, modest, nervous, overmodest, recoiling, reserved, reticent, retiring, self-conscious, self-effacing, shamefaced, sheepish, shrinking, silent, timid, timorous, unassertive, verecund |
| Antonyms: | confident, unabashed, unshy |
| Main Entry: | conservative |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | cautious, moderate, tending to preserve the status quo |
| Synonyms: | Tory, bourgeois, constant, controlled, conventional, die-hard, fearful, firm, fogyish, fuddy-duddy, guarded, hard hat, hidebound, holding to, illiberal, in a rut, inflexible, middle-of-the-road, not extreme, obstinate, old guard, old line, orthodox, quiet, reactionary, redneck, right, right of center, right-wing, sober, stable, steady, timid, traditional, traditionalistic, unchangeable, unchanging, uncreative, undaring, unimaginative, unprogressive, white bread |
| Antonyms: | exaggerated, incautious, left-wing, liberal, progressive, radical |
| Main Entry: | cowardly |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fearful |
| Synonyms: | afraid, anxious, apprehensive, backward, base, caitiff, chicken-hearted, cowering, cowhearted, craven, dastardly, diffident, dismayed, fainthearted, frightened, gutless, having the willies, jittery, lacking courage, lily-livered, nervous, no guts, panicky, paper tiger, pigeonhearted, pusillanimous, recreant, retiring, running scared, scared, shrinking, shy, soft*, spineless, timid, timorous, weak, weak-kneed, worthless, yellow*, 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, coquettish, demure, diffident, evasive, flirtatious, humble, kittenish, overmodest, prudish, rabbity, reserved, retiring, self-effacing, shrinking, shy, skittish, timid, unassertive |
| Antonyms: | aggressive, forward, immodest, impudent, unshy |
| 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, unassertive, unassuming, unassured |
| Notes: | demur is the verb 'to object or voice opposition' while demure is the adjective meaning 'modest, shy' |
| Antonyms: | aggressive, bold, extroverted, outgoing, shameless, strong |
| Main Entry: | diffident |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hesitant; unconfident |
| Synonyms: | backward, bashful, blenching, chary, constrained, coy, demure, distrustful, doubtful, dubious, flinching, humble, insecure, meek, modest, mousy, rabbity, reluctant, reserved, retiring, self-conscious, self-effacing, sheepish, shrinking, shy, suspicious, timid, timorous, unassertive, unassuming, unassured, unobtrusive, unpoised, unsure, withdrawn |
| Antonyms: | bold, confident |
| Main Entry: | fearful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | alarmed, apprehensive |
| Synonyms: | aflutter, afraid, aghast, agitated, anxious, chicken, chickenhearted, diffident, discomposed, disquieted, disturbed, fainthearted, frightened, goose-bumpy, have cold feet, hesitant, in a dither, intimidated, jittery, jumpy, lily-livered, mousy, nerveless, nervous, nervy, panicky, perturbed, phobic, pusillanimous, quivery, rabbity, running scared, scared, shaky, sheepish*, shrinking, shy, skittish, solicitous, spineless, tense, timid, timorous, tremulous, uneasy, unmanly, weak-kneed, worried, yellow* |
| Notes: | someone may be fearful; someone or something may be fearsome |
| Antonyms: | bold, brave, courageous, inapprehensive, unafraid, unfearful |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
