as in shy
not comfortable around people
a bashful child who hid in his room whenever there were visitors in the house
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Recent Examples of bashful
Next was a bashful grad student from Columbia’s engineering school who could not make eye contact.
—
The Editors, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
If a good time is picking up steam, San Diegans aren’t bashful about jumping on a Happy Train’s caboose.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025
Livestreaming isn’t the same as actually being there and seeing the fabric flow, the textures, the audience reaction and the bashful designer with their head down, forced onto the runway at the end of each show.
—Nadja Sayej, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Conrad is gorgeous yet bashful.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bashful
The Editors, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
If a good time is picking up steam, San Diegans aren’t bashful about jumping on a Happy Train’s caboose.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025
Livestreaming isn’t the same as actually being there and seeing the fabric flow, the textures, the audience reaction and the bashful designer with their head down, forced onto the runway at the end of each show.
—Nadja Sayej, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Conrad is gorgeous yet bashful.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bashful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bashful
Adjective
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Morrow was especially dominant in the second, putting up 10 points and six rebounds to come just shy of a second straight first-half double-double.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2026
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Maglares finished one out shy of a complete game for the Rockets in a 4-2 Fox Valley Conference win.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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His is a more enlightened era, but Hannes, lonely and withdrawn, doesn’t share his classmates’ interest in campus sit-ins and free love.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
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Lost was the fact that a grid-connection request is just the start of a multiyear process that involves permitting and legal review and often ends in withdrawn or downsized projects.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bashful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bashful. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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