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PlainSpell

shy

/ʃaɪ/adjective, verb, noun

shy is spelled S-H-Y: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, shy means “Easily frightened; timid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in shy?

Letters3: S-H-Y
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing14 times per million words; the 5,496th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is shy?

Shy appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,496th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce shy?

  • /ʃaɪ/

Shy has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-shy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of shy

  • shier comparative
  • shyer comparative
  • more shy comparative
  • shiest superlative
  • shyest superlative
  • most shy superlative
  • shies present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • shying participle, present
  • shied participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does shy mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Easily frightened; timid.

  2. 2

    Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach.

    He is very shy with strangers.

  3. 3

    Cautious; wary; suspicious.

  4. 4

    informalShort, insufficient or less than.

    By our count your shipment came up two shy of the bill of lading amount.

  5. 5

    UKUSLess likely to reveal whom they will vote for than average, chiefly in the context of the collective effect this has on polling accuracy.

    Pollsters need to remember the shy Tory factor.

verb

  1. 1

    To avoid due to caution, embarrassment or timidness.

    Courts might tend to shy from limiting Congress under such a vague standard.

  2. 2

    To jump back in fear.

    The horse shied at the unexpected approach of a motor vehicle.

  3. 3

    To throw sideways with a jerk; to fling.

    to shy a stone

  4. 4

    ScotlandTo throw a ball with two hands above the head, especially when it has crossed the side lines in a football (soccer) match.

  5. 5

    ScotlandTo hit the ball back into play from the sidelines in a shinty match.

noun

  1. 1

    An act of throwing.

  2. 2

    A place for throwing.

    coconut shy

  3. 3

    A sudden start aside, as by a horse.

  4. 4

    In the Eton College wall game, a point scored by lifting the ball against the wall in the calx.

  5. 5

    ScotlandA throw-in from the sidelines, using two hands above the head.

  6. 6

    ScotlandIn shinty, the act of tossing the ball above the head and hitting it with the shaft of the caman to bring it back into play after it has been hit out of the field.

  7. 7

    archaicA gibe; a sneer.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Shy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchtimide, timoré (easily frightened), gêné, réservé (reserved), prudent (cautious), sursauter (to jump back in fear)
Germanscheu, schüchtern (easily frightened), verlegen (embarrassed)
Portuguesepávido, assustado, medroso (easily frightened), reservado, tímido (reserved), cuidadoso (cautious)
Spanishtímido (easily frightened), reservado (reserved), vergonzoso (embarrassed), lanzar (to fling)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does shy come from?

From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after shy