shyness

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

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... timidity bashfulness diffidence reticence reserve coyness

Opposites

boldness confidencebrazennessextroversion

Word family

Related forms shy

Etymology

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

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# 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
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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