Meaning & use
shied away
Last updated
“shied away” is a form of “shy away”.
Meaning
verbphrasal verb
Avoided a person, task, or issue because of fear, nervousness, or reluctance.
Grammar: Past tense of shy away; almost always followed by from plus a noun or gerund: shied away from speaking.
Patterns
- shied away from someone
- shied away from something
- shied away from doing something
She shied away from questions about the failed launch.
He never shied away from hard decisions as mayor.
The company shied away from investing during the crisis.
Word forms
| base form | shy away |
|---|---|
| third person singular | shies away |
| past tense | shied away |
| past participle | shied away |
| -ing form | shying away |
Common combinations
- shy away from controversy
- A good editor does not shy away from controversy.
- shy away from responsibility
- He never shied away from responsibility when budgets were cut.
- shy away from change
- Older systems often shy away from change until forced to adapt.
- never shy away
- She never shied away from asking difficult questions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- avoid
- Avoid is the general verb; shy away adds the idea of pulling back from fear or discomfort.
- flinch from
- Flinch from suggests a visible recoil, physical or emotional; shy away is broader reluctance.
- shrink from
- Shrink from is more literary and emphasizes moral or emotional reluctance.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: shied away or shied?
shied away vs shied
Shied is also the past of shy meaning a horse suddenly moves aside, or to throw; shied away always means avoided from plus noun or gerund.
Practice
Complete the sentence: The board shied away ______ the risky expansion.
Choose one answer.
The phrasal verb is shy away from, so shied away from the risky expansion is correct. “To” and “at” do not fit the fixed pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shied away”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.