shyness C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction US /ˈʃaɪnəs/ UK /ˈʃaɪnəs/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like sinus /s/ vs /ʃ/ Meanings 1 noun the quality of being timid or reserved around others Her shyness faded once the conversation turned to books. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the quality of being timid... timiditybashfulnessdiffidencereticencereservecoyness ↔ Opposites boldnessconfidencebrazennessextroversion Word family Related forms shy Etymology AI details From shy plus the noun-forming suffix -ness; shy is from Old English sceoh ('timid, easily startled'), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz ('shy, afraid'). sceoh Old English *skeuhaz Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Space, Position & Direction Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # shyness **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈʃaɪnəs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈʃaɪnəs/ ## Meanings 1. the quality of being timid or reserved around others ## Examples - Her shyness faded once the conversation turned to books. ## Synonyms - timidity - bashfulness - diffidence - reticence - reserve - coyness ## Antonyms - boldness - confidence - brazenness - extroversion ## Related Forms - shy ## Roots and Affixes - Root: sceoh - Root: *skeuhaz ## Etymology From shy plus the noun-forming suffix -ness; shy is from Old English sceoh ('timid, easily startled'), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz ('shy, afraid'). ## AI Etymology Shyness comes from shy plus the noun-forming suffix -ness; shy is from Old English sceoh ('timid, easily startled'), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz ('shy, afraid'). The historical chain includes Old English sceoh and Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz. Older glosses in the chain include "timid, easily startled" and "shy, afraid", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, shyness is best read as suffixal formation and borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "the quality of being timid or reserved around others". related forms include shy. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - Space, Position & Direction - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown