Adjacent Words

Timid definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TIM'ID, a. [L. timidus, from timeo, to fear.] Fearful; wanting courage to meet danger; timorous; not bold.
Poor is the triumph o'er the timid hare.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: showing fear and lack of confidence [ant: bold]
2: lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid responses"; "a very unsure young man" [syn: diffident, shy, timid, unsure] [ant: confident]
3: lacking conviction or boldness or courage; "faint heart ne'er won fair lady" [syn: faint, fainthearted, timid, faint-hearted] n
1: people who are fearful and cautious; "whitewater rafting is not for the timid" [syn: timid, cautious] [ant: brave]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Latin timidus, from tim?re to fear Date: 1549 1. lacking in courage or self-confidence <a timid person> 2. lacking in boldness or determination <a timid policy> • timidity noun • timidly adverb • timidness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (timider, timidest) easily frightened; apprehensive, shy. Derivatives: timidity n. timidly adv. timidness n. Etymology: F timide or L timidus f. timere fear

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Timid Tim"id, a. [L. timidus, fr. timere to fear; cf. Skr. tam to become breathless, to become stupefief: cf. F. timide.] Wanting courage to meet danger; easily frightened; timorous; not bold; fearful; shy. Poor is the triumph o'er the timid hare. --Thomson. Syn: Fearful; timorous; afraid; cowardly; pusillanimous; faint-hearted; shrinking; retiring. -- Tim"id*ly, adv. -- Tim"id*ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Timid people are shy, nervous, and have no courage or confidence in themselves. A timid child, Isabella had learned obedience at an early age. ? confident ADJ • timidity She doesn't ridicule my timidity. N-UNCOUNT • timidly The little boy stepped forward timidly and shook Leo's hand. ADV: usu ADV with v 2. If you describe someone's attitudes or actions as timid, you are criticizing them for being too cautious or slow to act, because they are nervous about the possible consequences of their actions. The President's critics say he has been too timid in responding to changing international developments... = hesitant ? assertive ADJ [disapproval] • timidity He was soon disillusioned by the government's timidity on social reform. • timidly A number of these states are moving timidly towards multi-party democracy. ADV: ADV with v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Timorous, fearful, skittish, shy, cowardly, pusillanimous, faint-hearted, chicken-hearted, easily frightened. 2. Diffident, bashful, retiring, coy, shrinking, blushing, shame-faced, over-modest.

Moby Thesaurus

afraid, apprehensive, bashful, cautious, chicken, chickenhearted, confused, conscious, coward, cowardly, cowed, coy, craven, daunted, demure, demurring, diffident, dismayed, fainthearted, faltering, fearful, fearing, fearsome, frightened, funking, funky, goosy, gutless, henhearted, hesitant, hesitating, humble, in fear, inarticulate, intimidated, jibbing, jumpy, lily-livered, milk-livered, milksoppish, milksoppy, modest, mousy, nervous, overtimid, overtimorous, panic-prone, panicky, pigeonhearted, pusillanimous, rabbity, retiring, scared, scary, scrupling, self-conscious, shaky, shamefaced, shamefast, shilly-shallying, shivery, shrinking, shy, sissified, sissy, skittery, skittish, soft, stammering, startlish, sticking, stickling, straining, tentative, timorous, trembling, tremulous, trepidant, trigger-happy, unassertive, unassured, unmanly, unmanned, weak, weak-kneed, weakhearted, white-livered, yellow