timid

See also: tímid

English

Etymology

From Middle French timide, from Latin timidus (“full of fear, fearful, timid”), from timeō (“I fear”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɪmɪd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

timid (comparative timider or more timid, superlative timidest or most timid)

1. Lacking in courage or confidence.

   Synonyms: fearful, timorous, cautious, shy, bashful; see also Thesaurus:cautious, Thesaurus:shy

   Antonyms: courageous, daredevil, dauntless, bellicose, reckless, rash, aggressive, confident

   John's a very timid person. I doubt he'll be brave enough to face his brother.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. […]. The captive made no resistance and came not only quietly but in a series of eager little rushes like a timid dog on a choke chain.

Derived terms

• timid as a mouse
• timid as a rabbit
• timidity
• timidly
• timidness

Related terms

• intimidate
• intimidation

Translations

lacking in courage or confidence

• Albanian: ndrojtur (sq) , drojë (sq)
• Arabic: جَبَان (ar) (jabān)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: lotsati
• Belarusian: бая́зны (bajázny), баязлі́вы (bajazlívy), палахлі́вы (palaxlívy), нясме́лы (njasmjély)
• Bulgarian: плах (bg) (plah), боязли́в (bg) (bojazlív), плашли́в (bg) (plašlív)
• Burmese: ရှက် (my) (hrak)
• Catalan: tímid (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 膽小 / 胆小 (zh) (dǎnxiǎo), 膽怯 / 胆怯 (zh) (dǎnqiè), 羞怯 (zh) (xiūqiè), 怯懦 (zh) (qiènuò)

• Czech: bojácný m, nesmělý m, bázlivý (cs), plachý (cs) (shy), nesmělý
• Danish: frygtsom
• Dutch: schuchter (nl), bedeesd (nl), schroomvallig (nl), timide (nl)
• Esperanto: timema
• Estonian: pelglik, kartlik, arg (et)
• Finnish: säikky (fi), pelokas (fi), ujo (fi), arka (fi)
• French: timide (fr), craintif (fr)
• Galician: tímido
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: furchtsam (de), zaghaft (de), zögerlich (de), schüchtern (de), befangen (de), ängstlich (de), kopfscheu (de), kleinmütig (de), verhuscht (de), verzagt (de), zag (de), timide (de), timid (de), scheu (de)
• Greek: αθάρρευτος (el) (athárreftos)
• Hungarian: félénk (hu)
• Ido: timida (io)
• Ingrian: ujo, armolliin
• Irish: faiteach
• Italian: timido (it), pavido (it), impaurito (it)
• Japanese: 憶病 (おくびょう, okubyō)
• Khmer: ត្រុកៗ (trok-trok), អៀន (km) (ien), ទុយមុយ (km) (tuy muy), ប្រុនៗ (pron-pron), មុយៗ (muy-muy)
• Korean: 소심(小心)하다 (ko) (sosimhada)
• Ladino: arrezistado, timido
• Latin: meticulosus, timidus, pavidus
• Latvian: bikls (lv), kautrīgs
• Louisiana Creole French: timid
• Macedonian: плашлив (plašliv)
• Manx: faitagh
• Maori: tikumu, kōpī, kōpīpī, kōpipiri, whakakumu
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Occitan: timid (oc)
• Ottoman Turkish: یوركسز (yüreksiz)
• Persian: ترسو (fa)
• Plautdietsch: bleed (nds), feij
• Polish: bojaźliwy (pl), płochliwy (pl), nieśmiały (pl)
• Portuguese: tímido (pt), acanhado (pt)
• Romanian: timid (ro) m
• Russian: ро́бкий (ru) (róbkij), засте́нчивый (ru) (zasténčivyj), боязли́вый (ru) (bojazlívyj), несме́лый (ru) (nesmélyj), пугли́вый (ru) (puglívyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: diùid, gealtach, sgàthach
• Serbo-Croatian: snebivljiv (sh)
• Slovak: bojazlivý, nesmelý
• Spanish: tímido (es)
• Swedish: blyg (sv), timid (sv), försagd (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: ürkek (tr)
• Ukrainian: боязки́й (uk) (bojazkýj), несміли́вий (nesmilývyj), несмі́ливий (nesmílyvyj), несмі́лий (nesmílyj), полохли́вий (poloxlývyj)
• Vietnamese: rụt rè (vi)

Further reading

• “timid”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “timid”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• dimit

Ibaloi

Noun

timid

1. (anatomy) chin

Ilocano

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *timid, compare Tetum timir.

Noun

timid

1. (anatomy) chin

Louisiana Creole

Etymology

Inherited from French timide (“shy, timid”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tiˈmid/
• Rhymes: -id

Adjective

timid

1. shy, timid

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French timide and Latin timidus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tiˈmid/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

timid m or n (feminine singular timidă, masculine plural timizi, feminine and neuter plural timide)

1. timid, shy

Declension

Declension of timid

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	timid		timidă		timizi	timide
	definite	timidul		timida		timizii	timidele
genitive- dative	indefinite	timid		timide		timizi	timide
	definite	timidului		timidei		timizilor	timidelor

Related terms

• timiditate

Swedish

Adjective

timid (comparative timidare, superlative timidast)

1. timid

Declension

Inflection of timid

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	timid	timidare	timidast
neuter singular	timitt	timidare	timidast
plural	timida	timidare	timidast
masculine plural2	timide	timidare	timidast
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	timide	timidare	timidaste
all	timida	timidare	timidaste

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

References

• timid in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• timid in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• timid in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)