Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

love-shy

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.15 in modern English

Syllables: love-shy
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Ineffectual at courtship or attaining sexual intercourse.

noun

A person, especially a man, who is ineffectual at courtship.

Etymology

From love + shy. Attributed to late sociologist Brian G. Gilmartin.

Inflected Forms

love-shier (comparative) love-shyer (comparative) love-shiest (superlative) love-shyest (superlative) loveshy (alternative) love-shys (plural)

Phrases

love-shyness

Questions

What does love-shy mean?: Ineffectual at courtship or attaining sexual intercourse.
Where does love-shy come from?: From love + shy. Attributed to late sociologist Brian G. Gilmartin.

How to pronounce love-shy

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “love-shy”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “love-shy”.
Repeat and practice — Say “love-shy” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.