1.shy可用作不及物动词,主要用于马等受惊而畏缩不前,偶尔也可用于人,指“(因害羞而)退缩”。
2.shy常用于shy away from短语中,此时通常以人作主语,意为由于羞怯或恐惧等而“躲开”或“避开”。

shy away from(v.+adv.+prep.)
(由于羞怯或恐惧等)躲开或避开 avoid or move away from sth/doing sth (usually because of shyness, fear, etc.)
▲shy away from sth/v-ing
She's always shied away from close friendships.她总是避免与人深交。
The girl shied away from looking the strange man in the eye.这女孩很害羞,不敢正视那个陌生人。

用作不及物动词
▲S+～(+A)
The little colt shied at the fence and refused to jump over it.这匹小马驹到障碍物前会害怕,不敢跳过去。
The horse shied at the loud noise and threw its rider.那匹马听到那响声惊得向后倒退,把骑马的人摔了下来。
Ade bashfully shied.艾德羞得退缩了。

［同义词］ adj.  anxious, fearful, nervous, reserved v.  back away, balk, buck, shrink
［反义词］ adj.  bold, brash, brazen, fearless, obtrusive
［词源］  ＜古英语sceoh(胆怯,怕羞)

1.shy用作形容词的基本意思是“怕羞的,腼腆的”,既可用于指人,也可指行为,如羞怯的表情、微笑等(实际上是间接地修饰有关人的)。还可指鸟兽等“胆怯的”“易受惊的”。
2.shy还可作“有戒心的,不喜欢…的”解,此时常与of连用,其后可接名词或动名词。
3.shy作“缺乏的,不足的”解时主要用于美式英语,在句中一般用作表语,无比较级和最高级。用于其他词义时,则有比较级和最高级,分别为shyer, shyest。

fight shy of
避开… avoid sb/sth; be unwilling to undertake (a task) or confront sb
She was unhappy in her job for months but always fought shy of telling her boss.她几个月来工作都很不愉快,却始终未向老板启齿。
All children fight shy of lessons.所有孩子都不喜欢上课。

once bitten, twice shy
一次被咬,下次胆小; 一次上当,下次小心,一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳 after an unpleasant experience one is careful to avoid sth similar
Jenny certainly won't go swimming—once bitten, twice shy.珍妮肯定不会再去游泳了——所谓一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳。

用作定语
▲～+n.
Mary is a shy girl.玛丽是一个害羞的女孩。
She gave him a shy smile.她对他羞答答地笑了笑。
His low voice and shy look soon made him a favourite among his colleagues.他低低的嗓音和羞怯的表情很快使他成为受同事喜欢的人。
This young scholar is of a shy modesty and excessive fear of offence which often obscured his real worth.这位年轻的学者有着一种近乎羞怯的谦逊和过分害怕冒犯人的本性,这些都掩盖了他的真正价值。
Just before the night fell, there was a shy knock on the door.就在夜幕降临之前,传来一声轻轻的敲门声。
用作表语
▲S+be+～
 The little girl blazed shy.这个小女孩满脸的羞涩。
Many of the 18 contestants were looking a little shy.那18位竞争者大多数看上去有点害羞。
We're still two tickets shy.我们还差两张票。
▲S+be+～+prep.-phrase
 Jack is shy with strangers and bold with people he knows well.杰克在陌生人面前怕羞,但和熟人在一起时则无拘无束。
The dog is shy of strangers.这狗怕陌生人。
She's shy of buying shares.她不敢买股票。
The child was shy of telling the truth.那孩子怯于说真话。
Don't be shy of telling us the truth.告诉我们真相,不要不好意思。
He's always very shy of approaching his chief.他总是怯于接近他的长官。
We have a lot of pens, but we're shy on ink.我们有许多钢笔,但墨水不够。
We're still ten men shy of a full class.我们还少十个人才能凑成一个班。
▲S+be+too ～+to-v
 He was too shy to speak to her.他很怕羞,连话都不敢跟她说。
▲S+be+～+that-clause
 The Australian lyre-bird is so shy that even bushmen rarely see one.澳大利亚琴鸟很怯生,即使垦荒者亦难得一见。
Why is the moon so shy that it never shows us the other side of its face?月亮为什么那么害羞,总不给我们看它的那半边脸?

1.他并不怯于提建议。
［误］  He was not shy about offering suggestions.
［正］  He was not shy of offering suggestions.
［析］  be shy of是固定短语,表示“不好意思(做某事)”或“对…存有戒心”其中的介词不可用about代替。
2.这种动物人们不常见到,因为它是一种胆子极小的动物。
［误］  This animal is not often seen by man, as it is an extremely nervous creature.
［正］  This animal is not often seen by man, as it is an extremely shy creature.
［析］  指鸟类等“胆怯的”“易受惊的”通常用shy而不用nervous来形容。