Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Full of apprehensiveness; timid.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Fearful; timid; shy; shrinking.
- Betokening or proceeding from lack of boldness or courage; characterized by fear; weakly hesitant: as, timorous doubts.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Fearful of danger; timid; deficient in courage.
- adj. Indicating, or caused by, fear.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. timid by nature or revealing timidity
Etymologies
- From Old French temoros, from Medieval Latin timorosus, from Latin timor fear, from timeō to be afraid. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French timoureus, from Medieval Latin timōrōsus, from Latin timor, timōr-, fear, from timēre, to fear. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Where our difficulties lie, and what prompts the fears of the timorous, is in the fact that we have not made commensurate advances in every sector of human knowledge.”
“There is, indeed, a kind of timorous atheism in the man who dares not trust God to render all efforts to interpret his Wordand what is criticism but interpretation?”
“A divided Europe, which includes a timorous Germany and an Italy preoccupied with the prime minister's bunga bunga parties, will yield.”
“But cajoling the more timorous to leave the building's downstairs social area to venture upstairs, on time, to a place where discipline is expected needs more effort.”
The Guardian: Belshazzar's Feast; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Christmas project – review
“But seeing as you asked in such a gratifyingly timorous manner, I'll give you a three word clue: Topshop gift certificate.”
The Guardian: What should I get my 14-year-old niece for Christmas?
“She is timorous and excited, elated and at the same time frightened.”
“Though unperturbed by the footfalls of the chance pedestrian, he was as keyed up and sensitive and ready to be startled as any timorous deer.”
“There was no threat in that reach, nothing tentative nor timorous.”
“Er, they weren't asked by timorous analysts. @r4today.”
The Guardian: Apple announces record profits of $6bn as Steve Jobs hails 'phenomenal' sales
“Actually the scripts by Arthur Julian, Howard Merrill, Tom Adair, James B. Allardyce and others were generally brilliant, especially when navigating the awkward matter of the innate character of the “fictional Hekawi,” who whilst undoubtedly timorous were nevertheless shown to be at least canny, but more often shrewd:”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘timorous’.
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sdamle1
echt
echt, apocalypse, resurgence, forthright, logorrhea, mercurial, torrid, exorcise, obscure, intrusive, morose, vindictive and 100 more...
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2057 more...
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Interesting Words
A list of words that I find cool.
décolleté, ineluctably, pantechnicon, ossary, peripeteia, harridan, recidivist, irremediable, suppuration, slaver, loam, umbrage and 15 more...
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passive
words of inaction
tepid, languid, stagnant, inertia, effete, mired, soporific, reticent, taciturn, mollify, nebbish, milquetoast and 13 more...
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Words I like
A list contrived for the sole purpose of storing words I like to include in my writing; words that inspire or carry power for me.
contrite, meadow, sward, ossary, calumny, moribund, necropolis, chthonic, murmur, erstwhile, chime, beryl and 63 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 288 more...
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My GRE Vocab
moniker, sobriquet, prerogative, aberration, aberrant, nuance, notorious, infamous, renown, allude, refer, content and 109 more...
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ICE
quincunx, adoxography, panjundrum, breloque, surd, scripturient, rousant, favrile, embouchure, aquarelle, griffonage, sussultatory and 521 more...
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newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for timorous.

brtom "Ah! seest thou not an ambushed Cupid there,
Too timorous of his charge, with jealous care
Veils and unveils those beams of heavenly light ..."
Sheridan, School for Scandal Jan 2, 2008