Standard Lemma guide

sheepishly

adv · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation, US: /ˈʃiː.pɪʃ.li/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: SH IY1 P IH0 SH L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

In a sheepish way; shyly; meekly; bashfully; self-consciously; with embarrassment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adverb

Meaning 2

in a sheepish manner

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • sheepishly he handed her back the money

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English sheepish Middle English -ly English -ly English sheepishly From sheepish + -ly.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: skaapagtig — in a sheepish way
  • Finnish: lammasmaisesti — in a sheepish way
  • Polish: z zakłopotaniem — in a sheepish way
  • Russian: застенчиво (zastenčivo) — in a sheepish way
  • Svan: fåraktigt — in a sheepish way