shyness

noun

Definition of shynessnext
1
as in bashfulness

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in humility

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shyness
  1. humility
  2. embarrassment
  3. meekness
  4. modesty
  5. inhibition
  6. sociability
  7. friendliness
  8. cordiality
Noun
  • If Nietzsche was right, altruism comes from selfishness, humility from arrogance, love from hate.
    Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Approach it with curiosity, humility, and a commitment to growth.
    Scott Hutcheson, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of humility
Noun
  • There was not one single person wearing the exact same thing, and so any feelings of embarrassment about wearing a toilet with a head popping out of it on my back were washed away.
    George Yang, Rolling Stone, 19 Dec. 2024
  • But Thornton showed no sign of scorn or even embarrassment.
    Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
Definition of embarrassment
Noun
  • Most disconcerting is the meekness of Washington’s supposedly stalwart European allies.
    Raphael Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2014
  • But to see Bass as a kumbaya leader — or to mistake her softness for meekness — is to fundamentally misunderstand her.
    Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2024
Definition of meekness
Noun
  • Author John Neihardt described Crazy Horse in his book Black Elk Speaks as a person of great modesty and reserve but who was generous to the poor, elderly, and children.
    Chip Bell, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Dylan arrives on the scene with the false modesty of predestination, touched by God but desperate for a place to sleep for the night.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of modesty
Noun
  • And here’s another surprise, alcohol can lower inhibition and impair judgement.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
  • The other is that the meditators did get mentally fatigued, but their superior response inhibition enabled them to shake it off and stay on the treadmill.
    Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 9 Oct. 2024
Definition of inhibition
Noun
  • The Covid pandemic may have changed habits slightly — people are understandably more reticent about passing around the same cup and straw — but sociability is still key.
    Jack Lang, The Athletic, 9 July 2024
  • And it’s designed very specifically to assess at a very fine level various aspects of intelligence, of personality, of sociability.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 23 June 2014
Definition of sociability
Noun
  • The staff friendliness, course conditioning, layout and ambience make this a must stop for any golf vacationers.
    Scott Kramer, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
  • The cartoon friendliness of this one is hard to beat, and looks especially cute with round, bright ornaments.
    Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 2 Dec. 2024
Definition of friendliness
Noun
  • Such cordiality was impossible this time, and Dirk Hauser — head of media for Bayern’s academy then and to this day — had to keep the two men apart, in different parts of the old stadium.
    Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
  • Hold on to your butts, Samuel L. Jackson is coming after awards season cordiality.
    Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 28 Nov. 2024
Definition of cordiality
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near shyness

shyly

shyness

shyster

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Shyness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shyness. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on shyness

Nglish: Translation of shyness for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...