timorous

[tim-er-uhs]

adjective

1. full of fear; fearful.

   The noise made them timorous.

2. subject to fear; timid.

3. characterized by or indicating fear.

   a timorous whisper.

timorous

/ ˈtɪmərəs /

adjective

1. fearful or timid

2. indicating fear or timidity

Other Word Forms

• timorously adverb
• timorousness noun
• overtimorous adjective
• overtimorously adverb
• overtimorousness noun
• untimorous adjective
• untimorously adverb
• untimorousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of timorous¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin timōrōsus ( Latin timōr- (stem of timor ) fear + -ōsus -ous )

Word History and Origins

Origin of timorous¹

C15: from Old French temoros, from Medieval Latin timōrōsus, from Latin timor fear, from timēre to be afraid

Synonym Study

See cowardly.

Example Sentences

If you wish to be cynical, there are reasons why Murkowski — whose comments Monday quickly ricocheted across the country — may be more prepared to speak out against Trump than her timorous Republican peers.

From Los Angeles Times

But even then, the right claimed that New Deal liberal traitors were subverting the fight against communism and that Dwight D. Eisenhower was too timorous to embark upon a real rollback strategy against communism.

From Salon

Is that what these legislators and “timorous adults” are doing?

From Washington Post

The court’s decision for the football coach should cause timorous adults, and the fragile young people they shape, to stop fueling today’s cancel culture and the demands for “safe spaces.”

From Washington Post

An outwardly gentle soul, but with a spine of steel, Fred was never too timorous to lay bare our view on public affairs, including public corruption and injustices.

From Washington Post