timorous

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timorous

/ˈtɪməɹəs/ US, UK
/ˈtɪmɹəs/ US, UK

Where it comes from

From Late Middle English timorous (“(adjective) fearful, frightened; causing fear, dreadful, terrible; deferential, modest; (noun) timid people collectively”), borrowed from Old French temoros, temorous, from Medieval Latin timōrōsus, from timōr- (the stem of Latin timor (“dread, fear”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; prone to’). Timor is derived from timeō (“to be afraid of, fear”) (further origin uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *temH- (“dark”)) + -or (suffix forming third-declension masculine abstract nouns). Doublet of timoroso.

adjective more timorous · most timorous · timerous · timourous

Tending to be easily frightened; shy, timid. But thou now O temerous ⁊ weake ſely ſhepe, thynke yt ſufficient for thee, onely to walke after me, which am thy ſhepehearde ⁊ gouernor: […]
Similar: timorsome · Opposite: adventurous, mettlesome, aweless, bad, bold, brass-balled, chivalrous, courageous, daredevil, daring, dauntless, doughty
archaic Feeling fear; afraid, fearful, frightened. He [the Devil] marketh well […] mennes complexions within thẽ [them], health, or ſicknes, good humours or badde, by which they be light hearted or lumpiſh, ſtrong hearted, or faynt & fieble of ſpirite, bolde and hardy, or timorous and fearefull of courage.
Similar: apprehensive, afeared, afraid, alarmed, anxious, chicken, concerned, creeped out, fearful, frightened, frit, horrified · Opposite: brave, daredevil, dauntless, temerarious, untimorous, unafraid, unruffled, unterrified
UK, dialectal Fastidious in dressing.
UK, dialectal Fired with intense feeling; passionate.
UK, dialectal Hard to manage; difficult, tiresome.
obsolete Causing dread or fear; dreadful, terrible. Well, having past halfe way downewards, wee came to the most scurrile and timorous Discent of the whole passage, where with much difficuty, I set safe the foure Germanes in our narrow Rode hewen out of the craggy Hill; […]
obsolete Humble, modest; also, showing reverence; respectful, reverent, reverential.

Translations

Every language

adj feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened

Español	temoroso, timorato
Português	temoroso
Français	timoré
Italiano	timoroso

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MLA

"timorous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/timorous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

timorous. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/timorous

Chicago

"timorous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/timorous.

BibTeX

@misc{timorous_2026,
  title = {timorous},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/timorous},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}