bashful

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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16th-century apheresis of abashed-ful (full of).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈbæʃfəɫ], [ˈbæʃfʊɫ]
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Adjective

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bashful (comparative more bashful, superlative most bashful)

  1. Shy; not liking to be noticed; socially timid.
  2. Indicating bashfulness.
    a bashful look
    • 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
      “Have you done something to your hair?”
      “I just ran a comb through it,” shrugged the vicar.
      “Well, it looks delightful.”
      “How delightful of you to say so.” Auntie Flip and the vicar shared bashful grins. Frank had never witnessed his babysitter behave like this before.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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