gun-shy

[ guhn-shahy ]

adjective

1. frightened by the sound of a gunshot:

   a gun-shy bird dog.

2. hesitant, wary, or distrustful, especially because of previous unpleasant experience.

gun-shy

adjective

1. afraid of a gun or the sound it makes

   a gun-shy dog is useless for shooting

Other Words From

• gun-shyness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gun-shy¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Will the physical and verbal Nacua be gun-shy about engaging defensive players?

From Los Angeles Times

It makes sense that he is initially gun-shy having just ended a marriage, but his long-term passivity does not make him endearing.

From Salon

“The only guys who do wear them are the guys with eye injuries — they get a little gun-shy and wear them.”

From Los Angeles Times

As I mentioned, the Democrats became gun-shy about intervention after Vietnam during the 1970s and 1980s.

From Salon

“My sense of it is, when she did get reversed by the 11th Circuit that made her gun-shy, so she’s gone at a very slow pace” and issued “very few public, written decisions about important issues,” said John Fishwick, Jr., a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

From Seattle Times