bashful

[ˈbæʃfəɫ]

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.54 in modern English

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

adj

"a bashful look"
"“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."

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

more bashful (comparative) most bashful (superlative) bashfull (alternative, archaic)

bashfully bashfulness overbashful unbashful

bashful bladder

Questions

How do you pronounce bashful?

The recorded pronunciation is [ˈbæʃfəɫ].

What does bashful mean?

Shy; not liking to be noticed; socially timid.

Where does bashful come from?

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

How to pronounce bashful

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bashful”.

Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling ([ˈbæʃfəɫ]) so you know which sounds to aim for.

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Repeat and practice — Say “bashful” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.