gun-shy
Americanadjective
-
frightened by the sound of a gunshot.
a gun-shy bird dog.
-
hesitant, wary, or distrustful, especially because of previous unpleasant experience.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- gun-shyness noun
Etymology
Origin of gun-shy
First recorded in 1880–85
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Everyone is gun-shy about getting on his bad side,” he said.
I said, “Larry’s so afraid of being physically repellent he’d be a little gun-shy about doing that.”
From Los Angeles Times
It was the first day I hadn’t actually gotten a Wonder, and I was feeling gun-shy about showing myself in public again.
From Literature
Now you’re down 10%, feeling gun-shy and psychologically paralyzed, unable to pull the trigger on new opportunities.
From MarketWatch
Sequoia executives told some clients that Wang became gun-shy after that record loss, subsequently failing to take sufficient advantage of soaring markets and having difficulty making decisions, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
