Shy a. [Compar. Shier or Shyer; superl. Shiest or Shyest.]
 1. Easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird.
    The horses of the army . . . were no longer shy, but would come up to my very feet without starting.   --Swift.
 2. Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
    What makes you so shy, my good friend? There's nobody loves you better than I.   --Arbuthnot.
 The embarrassed look of shy distress
 And maidenly shamefacedness.   --Wordsworth.
 3. Cautious; wary; suspicious.
    I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the preparation of medicines.   --Boyle.
    Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of thier successors.   --Sir H. Wotton.
 4. Inadequately supplied; short; lacking; as, the team is shy two players.[Slang]
 To fight shy. See under Fight, v. i.
 shy
      adj 1: lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and
             abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid
             responses"; "a very unsure young man" [syn: diffident,
              timid, unsure]
      2: easily startled or frightened
      3: short; "eleven is one shy of a dozen" [syn: shy(p)]
      4: wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things;
         "shy of strangers"
      n : a quick throw; "he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman"
      v 1: start suddenly, as from fight
      2: throw quickly
      [also: shied, shyest, shyer, shiest, shier]
 shiest
      See shy