How to Use shy in a Sentence
- He gave her a shy smile.
- She was too shy to ask for help.
- I was painfully shy as a teenager.
- Help yourself if you want more. Don't be shy.
-
That is still well shy of the United States, at around 90%.
—
Colleen Barry and Nicole Winfield,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Aug. 2023
-
The event is open to all — even those who may be too shy to sign up themselves.
—
Chris Kelly,
Washington Post,
7 Sep. 2023
-
Morang was not shy about selling the dream of Fort Lauderdale.
—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Jan. 2024
-
Burke was not shy about speaking up after the first two games.
—
Nathan Baird,
cleveland,
18 Sep. 2023
-
That night at the pub, Catton calls him over to thank him and introduce the shy young man to his friends.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
22 Nov. 2023
-
While his younger sisters aren’t shy of the spotlight, Daniel prefers to lead his life out of the public eye.
—
Emily Weaver,
Peoplemag,
13 Nov. 2023
-
Browning made 20 field goals last season — two shy of Araiza’s school record — with a long of 52 yards.
—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Aug. 2023
-
That means this year’s show was up just shy of 4% in total viewers but down 5% in the key demo.
—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
11 Mar. 2024
-
Betts now has 25 leadoff homers as a Dodger, four shy of the franchise record of 29 set by Davey Lopes.
—
Mike Digiovanna,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2023
-
At 25, Schneider met her first wife, Kelly, then just shy of 22.
—
Christina Veta,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Sep. 2023
-
From that point on, the couple has been much less shy about their fledgling romance.
—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
12 Nov. 2023
-
That’s just $5 shy of the gadget’s all-time low price, which was first set during the Black Friday season.
—
Sheena Vasani,
The Verge,
10 Jan. 2024
-
While some kids were a bit shy to model for a crowd for the first time, others were no stranger to the runway — and let the audience know it.
—
Kylie Martin,
Detroit Free Press,
2 Sep. 2023
-
The team from Provo, Utah isn’t shy about launching it from deep, firing away at the fourth-highest rate in the country.
—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
27 Feb. 2024
-
Sivan was what most people would call a shy kid; sports gave him more confidence.
—
Condé Nast,
SELF,
24 Aug. 2023
-
Somers died of cancer just one day shy of her 77th birthday, the actor’s spokesperson R. Couri Hay said.
—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Oct. 2023
-
Isla was one hour shy of being born on the Fourth of July, entering the world at 11 p.m. the evening prior.
—
Tara Kavaler,
The Arizona Republic,
7 July 2023
-
Pattinson, on the other hand, wasn’t shy about being a hater.
—
Zoey Lyttle,
Peoplemag,
22 Nov. 2023
-
The commission remains two appointees shy of a full board.
—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Oct. 2023
-
Known for being more shy than other birds, they are often heard rather than seen.
—
Southern Living Editors,
Southern Living,
7 Sep. 2023
-
That total is one shy of Golden State’s franchise record.
—
Danny Emerman,
The Mercury News,
9 Apr. 2024
-
Don’t be shy about stepping into your new role in the family.
—
Essence,
2 Jan. 2024
-
That left him $300 million shy of the Forbes cutoff when the magazine unveiled the list Tuesday.
—
Matt Egan,
CNN,
4 Oct. 2023
-
For those who are shy, or below the 675 requirement, the club offers resources on how to improve their scores and make the cut.
—
Sunny Nagpaul,
Fortune,
16 Feb. 2024
-
Most pimple patches miss the mark on clearing out those deep, painful cysts that are too shy to show their whiteheads.
—
Cai Cramer,
Peoplemag,
26 Oct. 2023
-
Most polls had given him just shy of one-fifth of the likely vote, though were also badly wrong four years ago in the 2019 primaries.
—
Reuters,
CNN,
14 Aug. 2023
-
Smith has shied away from the fastball since the All-Star break.
—
Evan Grant,
Dallas News,
23 Aug. 2023
-
Woma pythons, on the other hand, didn’t shy away at all.
—
Sofia Quaglia,
Discover Magazine,
2 Mar. 2023
-
Teams have shied away as the civil suit remains in play.
—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Aug. 2023
-
There's nothing that William is going to shy away from in his work.
—
Todd Rosiak,
Journal Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2023
-
The movie itself isn't shying away from the premise either.
—
Alyssa Bailey,
ELLE,
16 May 2023
-
The Panthers tend to shy away from prospects with troubled backgrounds.
—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Jan. 2024
-
And the film doesn’t shy away from the idea of loss, of the children learning about the reality of, and presence of death in their lives.
—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
16 Nov. 2023
-
Lemon did not shy away from hot-button issues with Musk.
—
Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo,
Quartz,
19 Mar. 2024
-
The model doesn't shy away from daring silhouettes, such as the lace dress.
—
Jessica Scemama,
Vogue,
25 Sep. 2023
-
As a proud Capricorn, Coco Jones has never been the type of person to shy away from hard work.
—
Kailyn Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2023
-
Try to avoid patterns that are too big or busy, but don’t shy away from softer prints like gingham.
—
Kathryn Pagel,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Mar. 2023
-
So, there's no need to shy away from Grandma's best cherry pie recipe – enjoy a glass of wine, and get to pitting!
—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
17 Sep. 2023
-
And rather than shy away, Gen Z creators are embracing it — and amassing millions of fans in the process.
—
Taylor Lorenz,
Rolling Stone,
23 Apr. 2023
-
And while many shy away from cashmere because of its upkeep, this throw can be machine washed and dried.
—
Jenna Clark,
Southern Living,
23 Sep. 2023
-
Stroud didn’t shy away from his belief in himself on Wednesday.
—
The Indianapolis Star,
3 Mar. 2023
-
Matta, who is 27 and Lebanese American, shies away from calls for Democrats to unite around Biden ahead of the primary.
—
Elena Moore,
NPR,
27 Feb. 2024
-
The project has struggled to find financial backers, after French and Australian banks shied away from the project.
—
Hiroko Tabuchi,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2024
-
Home prices are still inching up, and many buyers haven’t shied from mortgage rates around 6 or 7 percent.
—
Rachel Siegel,
Washington Post,
11 Apr. 2024
-
The findings should not cause older adults to shy away from dog ownership, London said.
—
Lindsey Bever,
Anchorage Daily News,
2 May 2023
-
Some people may shy away from fabric sofas, but there are great options out there.
—
Addie Morton,
Better Homes & Gardens,
27 Feb. 2023
-
Imran Khan didn't shy away from addressing his disappointment with the state of the rule of law in Pakistan.
—
Zenger News,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2024
-
Doncic didn’t shy away from his comments before Game 6.
—
Duane Rankin,
The Arizona Republic,
6 Mar. 2023
-
Meanwhile, Coco Jones didn’t shy away from glam either.
—
India Espy-Jones,
Essence,
1 Nov. 2023
-
The Middle Eastern country has not shied away from investing big—whether that’s in the form of an elite league or a new stadium.
—
Prarthana Prakash,
Fortune,
8 Sep. 2023
-
And don’t shy away from asking for help and support from your community.
—
Fiorella Valdesolo,
Vogue,
5 July 2023
-
Classic, festive, and larger than life, Gaines’s tree doesn't shy away from capturing the spirit of the season.
—
Christianna Silva,
Better Homes & Gardens,
30 Nov. 2023
-
The killers themselves in any case did not shy away from crowing about their crimes in official documents.
—
TIME,
26 Jan. 2024
-
Americana Pipedream also doesn’t shy away from firearms.
—
Charles W. McFarlane,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2024
-
Wine is often pushed towards older crowds, which results in younger drinkers shying away from it.
—
Victoria Uwumarogie,
Essence,
8 Sep. 2023
-
But to Juanita McNeely, the 87-year-old artist whose life dealt her an unfair share of hardship, shying away from the taboo was never an option.
—
Grace Edquist,
Vogue,
8 Sep. 2023
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Last Updated:
