timorous
tim·or·ous/ˈtɪməɹəs/adjective
timorous is spelled T-I-M-O-R-O-U-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables (tim·or·ous). It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, timorous means “Tending to be easily frightened; shy, timid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in timorous?
| Letters | 8: T-I-M-O-R-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: tim·or·ous |
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 118,441st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is timorous?
Timorous appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st 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 timorous?
- US /ˈtɪməɹəs/
- US /ˈtɪmɹəs/
Timorous has 3 syllables, split tim·or·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-timorous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of timorous
- more timorous comparative
- most timorous superlative
- timerous
- timourous
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does timorous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tending to be easily frightened; shy, timid.
- 2
archaicFeeling fear; afraid, fearful, frightened.
- 3
UKFastidious in dressing.
- 4
UKFired with intense feeling; passionate.
- 5
UKHard to manage; difficult, tiresome.
- 6
obsoleteCausing dread or fear; dreadful, terrible.
- 7
obsoleteHumble, modest; also, showing reverence; respectful, reverent, reverential.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Timorous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense feeling fear (cognates) – see also afraid, fearful, frightened:
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 timorous come from?
From Late Middle English timorous (“(adjective) fearful, frightened; causing fear, dreadful, terrible; deferential, modest; (noun) timid people collectively”), borrowed from Old French temoros, temorous, from Medieval Latin timōrōsus, from timōr- (the stem of Latin timor (“dread, fear”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; prone to’). Timor is derived from timeō (“to be afraid of, fear”) (further origin uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *temH- (“dark”)) + -or (suffix forming third-declension masculine abstract nouns). Doublet of timoroso.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).