Standard Lemma guide

timorous

adj · 8 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.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtɪməɹəs/
  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtɪmɹəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: T IH1 M ER0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Tending to be easily frightened; shy, timid.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: timorsome

Antonyms: adventurous, mettlesome, aweless, bad, bold, brass-balled, chivalrous, courageous, daredevil, daring, dauntless, doughty, fearless, fortitudinous, gallant, gutsy, heroic, intrepid, lionhearted, orped, plucky, stalwart, stalworth, stouthearted, unafraid, undaunted, valiant, valorous, venturesome

2

adj

Meaning 2

Feeling fear; afraid, fearful, frightened.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: apprehensive, afeared, afraid, alarmed, anxious, chicken, concerned, creeped out, fearful, frightened, frit, horrified, mortified, panicked, scared, shocked, startled, terrified, timorous, worried, wary

Antonyms: brave, daredevil, dauntless, temerarious, untimorous, unafraid, unruffled, unterrified

3

adj

Meaning 3

Fastidious in dressing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Fired with intense feeling; passionate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Hard to manage; difficult, tiresome.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Causing dread or fear; dreadful, terrible.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

Humble, modest; also, showing reverence; respectful, reverent, reverential.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

timid by nature or revealing timidity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • timorous little mouse
  • in a timorous tone
  • cast fearful glances at the large dog

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fearful, trepid

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: уплашен (uplašen) — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Bulgarian: изплашен (izplašen) — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Catalan: temorós — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • French: timoré — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Italian: timoroso — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Occitan: temorós — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Polish: bojaźliwy — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Polish: strachliwy — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Polish: lękliwy — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Portuguese: temoroso — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Spanish: temoroso — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened
  • Spanish: timorato — feeling fear (cognates) — see also afraid, fearful, frightened