shy

adjective

/ʃaɪ/

(comparative shyer, superlative shyest)

Idioms

(of people人) nervous or embarrassed about meeting and speaking to other people羞怯的；腼腆的；怕生的 synonym timid
- He is not exactly the shy and retiring type.他不完全是那种害羞和内向的人。
- Don't be shy—come and say hello.别害羞，过来问个好。
- She was too shy to ask anyone for help.她太腼腆，不愿向任何人求助。
- As a teenager I was painfully shy.我十几岁的时候腼腆得很。
- shy around/with somebody She's very shy with adults.她在大人面前很拘束。
- a quiet, shy man不大说话、腼腆的人
- She was terribly shy around strangers.有陌生人在的时候她特别害羞。
- She went all shy and hid behind her mother.她变得非常害羞，躲到了妈妈身后。
- You don't have to be shy with me, you know.要知道你在我面前不必有顾虑。
- She felt suddenly shy as the large crowd fell silent.当一大群人陷入沉默时，她突然感到害羞。
Topics Personal qualitiesb1, Feelingsb1
Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- feel
- look
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
preposition
- around
- of
- with
- …
showing that somebody is nervous or embarrassed about meeting and speaking to other people显得腼腆的；看着羞怯的
- a shy smile腼腆的微笑
- a shy grin/glance害羞的笑/瞥
- his shy demeanour/temperament他害羞的举止/气质
(of animals动物) easily frightened and not willing to come near people怕人的；易受惊的；胆小的
- The panda is a shy creature.熊猫是一种胆小的动物。
[not before noun] (used especially in negative sentences尤用于否定句) afraid of doing something or being involved in something害怕（做）；对（做）…心怀顾忌
- shy of/about something The band has never been shy of publicity.这支乐队一向不惮招摇。
- shy of/about doing something He disliked her and had never been shy about saying so.他不喜欢她，从来不羞于这样说。
[not before noun] shy (of something) (especially North American English, informal) not having quite the amount that is needed to be something or to reach a particular figure欠缺；不足；未达到；不够
- We are still two players shy (of a full team).我们还缺两名队员（凑成一支队）。
- He died before Christmas, only a month shy of his 90th birthday.他在圣诞节前去世了，仅差一个月就满 90 岁。
- The bill was just shy of $1 million.账单只差100万美元。
-shy
(in compounds构成复合词) avoiding or not liking the thing mentioned躲避（或不喜欢）…的
- camera-shy (= not liking to be photographed)不爱照相
- He's always been work-shy.他总是躲避工作。
see also gun-shy

词源Old English scēoh ‘(of a horse) easily frightened’, of Germanic origin; related to German scheuen ‘shun’, scheuchen ‘scare’; compare with eschew. The verb dates from the mid 17th cent.

Idioms

fight shy of something/of doing something

to be unwilling to accept something or do something, and to try to avoid it不愿接受（或做）某事；回避；躲避
- Successive governments have fought shy of such measures.一届接一届政府均不愿采取这些措施。

once bitten, twice shy

(saying) after an unpleasant experience you are careful to avoid something similar一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳

shy

verb

/ʃaɪ/

[intransitive]

动词形式

present simple I / you / we / they shy	/ʃaɪ/ /ʃaɪ/
he / she / it shies	/ʃaɪz/ /ʃaɪz/
past simple shied	/ʃaɪd/ /ʃaɪd/
past participle shied	/ʃaɪd/ /ʃaɪd/
-ing form shying	/ˈʃaɪɪŋ/ /ˈʃaɪɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

shy (at something) (especially of a horse尤指马) to turn away with a sudden movement because it is afraid or surprised被吓退；被惊走
- My horse shied at the unfamiliar noise.这陌生的声音把我的马惊跑了。
- Her horse shied violently at a gorse bush.金雀花丛把她的马惊得猛然后退。
see also coconut shy
Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- violently
preposition
- at
词源Old English scēoh ‘(of a horse) easily frightened’, of Germanic origin; related to German scheuen ‘shun’, scheuchen ‘scare’; compare with eschew. The verb dates from the mid 17th cent.