sheepish

sheep·ish

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [shee-pish]
- /ˈʃi pɪʃ/
- /ˈʃiː.pɪʃ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [shee-pish]
- /ˈʃi pɪʃ/

Definitions of sheepish word

adjective sheepish embarrassed or bashful, as by having done something wrong or foolish. 1
adjective sheepish like sheep, as in meekness, docility, etc. 1
adjective sheepish self-conscious, embarrassed 1
adjective sheepish If you look sheepish, you look slightly embarrassed because you feel foolish or you have done something silly. 0
adjective sheepish abashed or embarrassed, esp through looking foolish or being in the wrong 0
adjective sheepish resembling a sheep in timidity or lack of initiative 0

See all 9 definitions of sheepish

Information block about the term

Origin of sheepish

First appearance:

before 1150

One of the 7% oldest English words

First recorded in 1150-1200, sheepish is from the Middle English word shepisshe. See sheep, -ish1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Sheepish

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Sheepish

sheepish popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 74% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

sheepish usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for sheepish

adj sheepish

aflutter — in or into a nervous or excited state
ashamed — If someone is ashamed, they feel embarrassed or guilty because of something they do or they have done, or because of their appearance.
bashful — Someone who is bashful is shy and easily embarrassed.
convictable — to prove or declare guilty of an offense, especially after a legal trial: to convict a prisoner of a felony.
diffident — lacking confidence in one's own ability, worth, or fitness; timid; shy.

noun sheepish

coyness — artfully or affectedly shy or reserved; slyly hesitant; coquettish.
diffidence — the quality or state of being diffident.
docility — easily managed or handled; tractable: a docile horse.
humility — the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc.
bashfulness — The quality or property of being bashful; shyness; reserve; timidity.

adjective sheepish

accusable — having liability to be blamed or accused
chagrined — If you are chagrined by something, it disappoints, upsets, or annoys you, perhaps because of your own failure.
humble — not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.
humbled — not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.
rabbity — any of several soft-furred, large-eared, rodentlike burrowing mammals of the family Leporidae, allied with the hares and pikas in the order Lagomorpha, having a divided upper lip and long hind legs, usually smaller than the hares and mainly distinguished from them by bearing blind and furless young in nests rather than fully developed young in the open.

All 28 Synonyms of sheepish