bashful
shy
TRANSLATION
bashful = schüchtern, schamhaft, verlegen, scheu, verschämt bashful smile = verschämtes Lächeln --- GOOGLE INDEX bashful: approximately 161,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Rising Power, Anxious State... leaders may shy away from claiming to have found a "China model", but Chongqing's leaders are not so BASHFUL.
The Economist
The Economist
Did you
know?
bashful
adjective
reluctant to draw attention to oneself; shy
(Oxford Dictionary)
Someone who is bashful tends to feel nervous or uncomfortable talking to people, and in particular does not like talking about him- or herself. The word came into use in the 16th century as "bash" or "to become abashed", which means to be embarrassed or ashamed about something. This relies on the Old French baissier, to bring down or humiliate.
Interestingly "abashed", feeling embarrassed about something, is less common in English than the negative form "unabashed", which is when someone shows no embarrassment. In fact, the person seems confident and even proud about an action, including a wrongdoing. "He was unabashed in admitting that he had copied large parts of his manuscript from another author's work."
However, bashful or abashed shouldn't be confused with the word "bash". This refers to a strong blow, or when used as a verb, means "to hit hard". Perhaps surprisingly, the word can also refer to a big party. "We celebrated our profitable business partnership with an end-of-the-year bash".
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SYNONYMS
shy, modest, silent, embarrassed, self-conscious
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
" A career in sales in not for bashful people."
adjective
reluctant to draw attention to oneself; shy
(Oxford Dictionary)
Someone who is bashful tends to feel nervous or uncomfortable talking to people, and in particular does not like talking about him- or herself. The word came into use in the 16th century as "bash" or "to become abashed", which means to be embarrassed or ashamed about something. This relies on the Old French baissier, to bring down or humiliate.
Interestingly "abashed", feeling embarrassed about something, is less common in English than the negative form "unabashed", which is when someone shows no embarrassment. In fact, the person seems confident and even proud about an action, including a wrongdoing. "He was unabashed in admitting that he had copied large parts of his manuscript from another author's work."
However, bashful or abashed shouldn't be confused with the word "bash". This refers to a strong blow, or when used as a verb, means "to hit hard". Perhaps surprisingly, the word can also refer to a big party. "We celebrated our profitable business partnership with an end-of-the-year bash".
---
SYNONYMS
shy, modest, silent, embarrassed, self-conscious
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
" A career in sales in not for bashful people."
