[ adv ] in a shy or timid or bashful manner <adv.all> he smiled shyly
Timid \Tim"id\, a. [L. timidus, fr. timere to fear; cf. Skr. tam to become breathless, to become stupefief: cf. F. timide.] Wanting courage to meet danger; easily frightened; timorous; not bold; fearful; shy.
Poor is the triumph o'er the timid hare. --Thomson.
'I wonder if it may be alright if I kissed you,' he says timidly.
Mr. Messner showed his sympathy, instead, for those party members who maintain that the state acted too timidly in putting down the recent spate of strikes.
Czechoslovakia's centrally planned economy, which has timidly introduced some elements of market mechanism in recent years, so far failed to produce notable results.
So the opposition timidly makes concession after concession, while seeking shelter in anonymity.
Asked whether the plane had enough fuel to fly 15 miles to the northeast and turn around for another approach, the copilot said almost timidly, "I guess so.