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   shy

   /ʃʌɪ/

   adjective

   • 1. nervous or timid in the company of other people: "I was pretty shy at school"
   • ▪ slow or reluctant to do (something): "the wealthy have become less shy of displaying their privilege"
   • ▪ having a dislike of or aversion to a specified thing: "he was very car shy when he came here"
   • ▪ (of a wild mammal or bird) reluctant to remain in sight of humans: "otters are very shy animals"
   • 2. less than; short of: informal "the shares are 29p shy of their flotation price"
   • ▪ before: "he left school just shy of his fourteenth birthday"
   • 3. (of a plant) not bearing flowers or fruit well or prolifically.

   verb

   • 1. (especially of a horse) start suddenly aside in fright at an object, noise, or movement: "their horses shied at the unfamiliar sight"
   • ▪ avoid doing or becoming involved in (something) due to nervousness or a lack of confidence: "don't shy away from saying what you think"

   noun

   • 1. a sudden startled movement, especially of a frightened horse.

   Word Origin Old Englishscēoh ‘(of a horse) easily frightened’, of Germanic origin; related to German scheuen ‘shun’, scheuchen ‘scare’; compare with eschew. The verb dates from the mid 17th century.

   Derivatives

   • 1. shyer noun

   Scrabble Points: 9

   • S

     1

   • H

     4

   • Y

     4

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