shy and modest

self-conscious

ˌself-ˈconscious BrE AmE adjective
1. worried and embarrassed about what you look like or what other people think of you
self-conscious about
Jerry’s pretty self-conscious about his weight.
2. self-conscious art, writing etc shows that the artist etc is paying too much attention to how the public will react to their work
—self-consciously adverb:
The boys posed rather self-consciously for the photo.
—self-consciousness noun [uncountable]

modest

mod‧est /ˈmɒdəst, ˈmɒdɪst $ ˈmɑː-/ BrE AmE adjective
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: modestus]
1. NOT PROUD someone who is modest does not want to talk about their abilities or achievements OPP immodest, boastful
modest about
He was always modest about his role in the Everest expedition.
You’re too modest! You’ve been a huge help to us.
2. NOT BIG not very great, big, or expensive:
a modest increase in costs
She had saved a modest amount of money.
The new service proved a modest success.
a modest house with a small garden
his modest ambitions
3. SHY shy about showing your body or attracting sexual interest, because you are easily embarrassed OPP immodest:
She was a modest girl, always keeping covered, even in summer.
4. CLOTHES old-fashioned modest clothing covers the body in a way that does not attract sexual interest:
a modest knee-length dress
—modestly adverb:
‘I was just lucky,’ he said modestly.
modestly priced meals
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ modest not wanting to talk about your abilities or achievements and to say that you are good at something, even when you are – used to show approval: Miller, a quiet, modest man, gave credit to Asher for the initial discovery. | She was surprisingly modest about her own achievements as a player.
▪ self-effacing written not wanting to talk about yourself or to attract attention: Her husband was a quiet, self-effacing man who spent much of his time in his study.
▪ unassuming not wanting to be noticed and not expecting to be treated in a special way: By now Chapman was famous, but he remained as unassuming as ever. | He then began, in typically unassuming fashion, to establish the first modern dance company.
▪ humble believing that you are not more important, better, or cleverer than other people, and therefore not expecting to be treated in a special way: A good leader is humble enough to get advice from experts.
▪ unpretentious not trying to seem better than other people, even if you are rich, famous, clever etc: President Eisenhower was a friendly and unpretentious man who seemed to embody American virtues. | It's his unpretentious boyish charm that ensures Jackie Chan's position as one of the giants of international cinema.
▪ self-deprecating written behaving or talking about your own abilities or achievements in a way that makes them seem unimportant: Despite his intellect, he had an appealing self-deprecating humour. | The nice thing about him is his self-deprecating manner. His intellectual ability was never pushed at you, yet he obviously had great potential. | a self-deprecating smile

shy

I. shy¹ /ʃaɪ/ BrE AmE adjective (comparative shyer, superlative shyest)
[Word Family: verb: ↑shy; noun: ↑shyness; adverb: ↑shyly; adjective: ↑shy]
[Language: Old English; Origin: sceoh]
1. nervous and embarrassed about meeting and speaking to other people, especially people you do not know:
He was a quiet shy man.
shy with
She was very shy with strangers.
a shy smile
As a teenager, I was painfully shy (=extremely shy).
shy to do something
He was too shy to come and sit by me in class.
go all shy British English (=to suddenly become very shy)
Oh, have you gone all shy, Jenny?
2. somebody is not shy about (doing) something used to emphasize that someone is very willing to do something or get involved with something:
John has strong opinions and he’s not shy about sharing them.
3. unwilling to do something or get involved in something
be shy about/of (doing) something
Employees are urged not to be shy about reporting incidents of sexual harassment.
4. be shy (of something) especially American English to have less than a particular amount of something:
The Democrats are three votes shy of a majority.
Jessica died Monday. She was one week shy of her 13th birthday.
5. used to say that someone does not like something and therefore tries to avoid it:
Although publicity-shy, he recently agreed to be interviewed. ⇨ ↑camera-shy, ↑work-shy
6. shy animals get frightened easily and are unwilling to come near people SYN timid:
Deer are shy creatures.
—shyly adverb:
He grinned shyly.
—shyness noun [uncountable]:
I overcame my shyness.
⇨ fight shy of (doing) something at ↑fight¹(22), ⇨ once bitten, twice shy at ↑bite¹(14)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ bashful shy and not willing to say very much
▪ self-conscious worried and embarrassed about what you look like or what other people think of you
▪ timid not brave or confident
▪ reserved not liking to express your emotions or talk about your problems
▪ introverted thinking a lot about your own interests, problems etc, and not liking to be with other people
▪ withdrawn quiet and not wanting to talk to other people, especially because you are unhappy
▪ antisocial not liking to meet people and talk to them
▪ retiring formal not wanting to be with other people