Timidity

//tɪˈmɪdɪti// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state of being timid; shyness. countable, uncountable

    "[…] instead of the joyous voices of his playfellows he hears the rough commands of an unindulgent master or a scolding mistress; — he is continually reproached for his awkwardness and timidity, and reminded of his pauper origin."

  2. 2
    fearfulness in venturing into new and unknown places or activities wordnet
  3. 3
    fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
timidnesstimidnessafraidnessbashfulnesschicken-liverednesschickenheartedness

Example

More examples

"She did not move, and he came towards her with more doubt and timidity in his face than she had ever seen before. He was in a state of uncertainty which made him afraid lest some look or word of his should condemn him to a new distance from her; and Dorothea was afraid of her OWN emotion."

Etymology

From timid + -ity, from Middle French timidité, from Latin timiditātem.

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