| / English Dictionary |
TIMID
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
People who are fearful and cautious
Example:
whitewater rafting is not for the timid
Synonyms:
cautious; timid
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("timid" is a kind of...):
people ((plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively)
Antonym:
brave (people who are brave)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Showing fear and lack of confidence
Classified under:
Similar:
bashful (self-consciously timid)
coy (modestly or warily rejecting approaches or overtures)
fearful; timorous; trepid (timid by nature or revealing timidity)
intimidated (made timid or fearful as by threats)
mousey; mousy (quiet and timid and ineffectual)
Also:
unadventurous (lacking in boldness)
afraid (filled with fear or apprehension)
unassertive (inclined to timidity or lack of self-confidence)
backward ((used of temperament or behavior) marked by a retiring nature)
cowardly; fearful (lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted)
Attribute:
timidity; timorousness (fearfulness in venturing into new and unknown places or activities)
Antonym:
bold (fearless and daring)
Derivation:
timidity; timidness (fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Lacking conviction or boldness or courage
Example:
faint heart ne'er won fair lady
Synonyms:
faint; faint-hearted; fainthearted; timid
Classified under:
Similar:
cowardly; fearful (lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted)
Derivation:
timidity (fearfulness in venturing into new and unknown places or activities)
timidness (fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Lacking self-confidence
Example:
a very unsure young man
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Attribute:
confidence (a feeling of trust (in someone or something))
Derivation:
timidness (fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions)
Context examples:
Miss Morrison is a little, ethereal slip of a girl, with timid eyes and blonde hair, but I found her by no means wanting in shrewdness and common sense.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Elizabeth observed my agitation for some time in timid and fearful silence, but there was something in my glance which communicated terror to her, and trembling, she asked, What is it that agitates you, my dear Victor?
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
She was small of her age, with no glow of complexion, nor any other striking beauty; exceedingly timid and shy, and shrinking from notice; but her air, though awkward, was not vulgar, her voice was sweet, and when she spoke her countenance was pretty.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
A convoy, as I can well remember, was coming up it that day, the timid flock of merchantmen in front; the frigates, like well-trained dogs, upon the skirts; and two burly drover line-of-battle ships rolling along behind them.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
You are so changed, I sometimes think— there Amy stopped, with a half-timid, half-wistful look, more significant than her unfinished speech.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
I had nothing better to offer, than another timid, “Oh, indeed!”
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
You are too timid in drawing your inferences.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
They must have considered I was very careful and timid at first, and that gradually I grew very bold and reckless.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
She was timid and afraid, but she possessed courage.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
We can't have the man on horseback, and anything is preferable to the timid swine that now rule.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
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