Synonyms for shyness
shy·ness

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. shyness

   Bashfulness is a shrinking from notice without assignable reason. Coyness is a half encouragement, half avoidance of offered attention, and may be real or affected. Diffidence is self-distrust; modesty, a humble estimate of oneself in comparison with others, or with the demands of some undertaking. Modesty has also the specific meaning of a sensitive shrinking from anything indelicate. Shyness is a tendency to shrink from observation; timidity, a distinct fear of criticism, error, or failure. Reserve is the holding oneself aloof from others, or holding back one's feelings from expression, or one's affairs from communication to others. Reserve may be the retreat of shyness, or, on the other hand, the contemptuous withdrawal of pride and haughtiness. Compare ABASH; PRIDE; TACITURN.

   Synonyms:
   backwardness, bashfulness, coldness, constraint, coyness, diffidence, modesty, reserve, timidity, unobtrusiveness

   Antonyms:
   abandon, arrogance, assumption, assurance, boldness, conceit, confidence, egotism, forwardness, frankness, freedom, haughtiness, impudence, indiscretion, loquaciousness, loquacity, pertness, sauciness, self-conceit, self-sufficiency, sociability

Princeton's WordNet

1. shynessnoun

   a feeling of fear of embarrassment

Matched Categories

1. • Timidity

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. shynessnoun

   Synonyms:
   diffidence, coyness, timidity, bashfulness

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "shyness":

   timidity

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How to use shyness in a sentence?

1. Malath Adam:

   Shyness is..

2. Katie Leung:

   I always had a problem with shyness at school and would never stick my hand up in class if I was stuck at something. I didn't want to be the center of attention, all those eyes looking at me would have made me really nervous.

3. Kristie Poole:

   It is likely that the experience of … shyness in response to a speech task is a relatively common, normative experience for children at this age, for a smaller group of temperamentally shy children, however, being the center of attention may be stressful across time and various contexts.

4. Dana Perino:

   She is a self-described introvert, her book talks about how hard it was for her to get over her shyness so that she could give these speeches, so what it took for her to give a speech like that, I think, was really driven by the love of her husband.

5. J. B. Priestley:

   Many a man is praised for his reserve and so-called shyness when he is simply too proud to risk making a fool of himself.