Shyful

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Inclined to shy, or jump back in fear. rare

    "My body tensed and went slack, then tensed quickly again, just the same as the mounts I used to walk between polo chukkers at Onwensia Stables—walking hots we called it—the lathered, snorting horses skittish and shyful after someone had run their asses off for fifteen minutes or so."

  2. 2
    Exhibiting shyness; timid. nonstandard, rare

    "She was somewhat shyful seeing the eternal couple before her."

Example

More examples

"My body tensed and went slack, then tensed quickly again, just the same as the mounts I used to walk between polo chukkers at Onwensia Stables—walking hots we called it—the lathered, snorting horses skittish and shyful after someone had run their asses off for fifteen minutes or so."

Etymology

From shy + -ful.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.