gun shy
gun shy is the alternative form of gunshy.
Meaning of gunshy
Adjective
gunshy (comparative more gunshy, superlative most gunshy)
- Afraid to use a gun.
- Frightened by the sound of gunfire.
- But very few dogs become gunshy if they are introduced to the bang while they are overcome with the delight of chasing game, particularly if the trainer begins with a light noise and works up to louder noises in easy stages2007, Paul Long, Training Pointing Dogs, 2nd edition, page 38
- Fearing the consequences of repeating an act, especially after being reprimanded.
- After his last suggestion was laughed at by his colleagues, he was gunshy about making another suggestion.
Forms of gun shy
| comparative | more gun shy |
|---|---|
| superlative | most gun shy |
Questions about gun shy
- What is gun shy the alternative form of?
- Gun shy is the alternative form of gunshy.
Words near gun shy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gun shy (page history and authors); gunshy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “gun shy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gun_shy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.