shied

verb

past tense of shy
as in flinched

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shied
  1. flinched
  2. recoiled
  3. winced
  4. shrank
Verb
  • The teen in the green sweatshirt, Williams, momentarily flinched from the gunshot.
    — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Sipp slightly flinched his left arm before throwing a pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, allowing Miguel Tejada to score and sending San Francisco to its fourth straight win.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026
Definition of flinched
Verb
  • Even a few Republican loyalists have recoiled at the extravagant pageantry, seemingly designed to flatter Xi and awe a domestic audience, although the absence of TV cameras at the Rose Garden ceremony undermined that low-ambition objective.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The Colts bit on it, but Mahomes recoiled and looked over the middle of the field.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of recoiled
Verb
  • Ohtani, who hasn’t pitched since July 3 due to lingering knee and biceps issues, winced in pain throughout his eight-pitch at-bat against reliever Riley O’Brien, seeming to strain himself with every muscle flex, let alone big-league hacks.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • My husband walked into the room and winced as one of the women changed into a perfect re-creation of an American Girl–doll outfit (very theater kid, not his thing).
    — Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of winced
Verb
  • Walmart China, for instance, has shrunk portion sizes to match households’ smaller appetites.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Since their debut in 1986, American Girl has shrunk their historical line significantly–including paring down the traditional six-book set for each historical character into two streamlined texts.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of shrank
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

shibboleths
shied
shied (from or away from)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shied. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All