shy

Definitions

1. 1.Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach. What makes you so shy, my good friend There's nobody loves you better than I. Arbuthnot. The embarrassed look of shy distress And maidenly shamefacedness. Wordsworth.
2. 2.Cautious; wary; suspicious. I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the preparation of medicines. Boyle. Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of thier successors. Sir H. Wotton. To fight shy. See under Fight, v. i.
3. 3.To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses.
4. 4.To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper. T. Hughes.
5. 5.A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
6. 6.A side throw; a throw; a fling. Thackeray. If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must, it seems, have a shy at somebody. Punch.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "shy" mean?
• What is another word for "shy"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is shy.

• What is to start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses called?
• What is to throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper. T. Hughes called?
• What is a side throw; a throw; a fling. Thackeray. If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must, it seems, have a shy at somebody. Punch called?