timid Hear it!

timid Definition

timid (timid)

adjective

  1. easily frightened; lacking self-confidence; shy; timorous
  2. showing fear or lack of self-confidence; hesitant a timid reply

Etymology: L timidus < timere, to fear

timid Related Forms
ti·mid·ity (tə midə tē) noun or tim·id·ness tim·idly adverb
timid Synonyms

timid

modif.

  1. Cowardly

    fainthearted, fearful, timorous, hesitant, pusillanimous, apprehensive, frightened, nervous, unnerved, tremulous, overcautious, spiritless, weak, weak-kneed, poor-spirited, shaky, feeble, daunted, browbeaten, cowed, intimidated, spineless, cowering, soft*, yellow*, scared spitless*, chicken-livered*, chicken-hearted*, afraid of one's own shadow*, wimpy*; see also cowardly 1.

    Antonyms bold, fearless, confident.

  2. Reticent

    shy, bashful, timorous, retiring, unassertive, submissive, mousy, diffident, shrinking, withdrawn, modest, shamefaced; see also humble 1. See syn. study at afraid.

timid Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: Can early experience with humans make lambs less timid and stressed?

Modifies a noun

  • creature: They are timid creatures that spend most of their time on the ground.
  • soul: A more timid soul might throw in the towel in the face of all this crap.
  • cat: Never put a shy timid cat with an aggressive overbearing cat.
  • voice: GIRL: [ very timid high pitched voice ] Who is there?
  • reform: Venezuela shows that in its present state, the capitalist system cannot even allow the timid reforms Chavez wants to impose.
  • attempt: The Kyoto Protocol is a timid attempt to reduce the impact of climate change.

Modifying Another Word

  • too: Tories in recent years have become too timid about saying how we want to improve society.
  • rather: He knows he is by nature a rather timid young man.
  • naturally: Prior to that, in her naturally timid disposition, she might have felt at a disadvantage within the existing family relationships.
  • fairly: In the game's current state Race Driver 3 seems fairly timid across its expansive range.
  • quite: Pets can be brave or quite timid, just like us.
  • very: GIRL: [ very timid high pitched voice ] Who is there?

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: At the time, we remarked how the deer seemed even more timid than usual.
  • feel: I wonder how many of us here tonight are feeling timid about the work we've been called to?
  • become: Tories in recent years have become too timid about saying how we want to improve society.
  • look: Looking timid behind a huge guitar on a vast stage he mumbles his way through acoustic tracks across his four solo albums.
  • remain: They are largely unaccustomed to man and have remained fairly timid.

Preposition: in

  • face: The referees found themselves too timid in the face of hockey and Selwyn pressure.

Preposition: with

  • stranger: Her companion Jess is white and gray, 11 years old and just a little timid with strangers.
timid Quotes

Qui timide rogat, docet negare. Who makes timid requests, invites denial.

—Seneca full name Lucius AnnaeusSeneca called theYounger

Browse dictionary entries near timid

  1. timeworn
  2. timework
  3. timetable
  4. timeshare
  5. timeserving
  6. timeserver
  7. timesaving
  8. times
  9. timer
  10. timepiece
  1. timidity
  2. timing
  3. Timişoara
  4. timocracy
  5. Timor
  6. Timor Sea
  7. Timor Timur
  8. timorous
  9. timothy
  10. timpani