What's the difference between demure and shy?

Demure


Definition:

  • (a.) Of sober or serious mien; composed and decorous in bearing; of modest look; staid; grave.
  • (a.) Affectedly modest, decorous, or serious; making a show of gravity.
  • (v. i.) To look demurely.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) His monstrous wardrobe, his entourages of 300 or 400 ferried in four aeroplanes, his huge bedouin tent, complete with accompanying camel, pitched in public parks or in the grounds of five-star hotels – and his bodyguards of gun-toting young women, who, though by no means hiding their charms beneath demure Islamic veils, were all supposedly virgins, and sworn to give their lives for their leader.
  • (2) When the time came for Mayer to give a speech, she demurred for a moment before standing.
  • (3) Strange then that among my generation of friends, adolescent in the early 1980s, there was a sort of discretion verging on the demure when it came to discussing contraception.
  • (4) Pressed on whether the upheaval has reached him, Frost repeatedly, if unsurprisingly, demurs.
  • (5) I’d ask that, instead of demanding black voters’ unquestioning loyalty to Sanders, they interrogate what racism is before demurring to a class analysis that still leaves my working-class family members dead in the street.
  • (6) The Villa clamours for attention on the waterfront, the embarrassingly shouty younger sibling of its more demure neighbour, the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (Mucem).
  • (7) Pressed in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in mid-October, he demurred.
  • (8) Asked by the Associated Press whether her instant fame had led her to think about higher political office – there has been speculation she could run against Perry for the governor's mansion or attempt to gain a Texas seat in the US senate – she demurred.
  • (9) Asked directly if it was fair to say that Obama has been a better president for America than Putin has been for Russia, Cornyn demurred: “I’m not gonna go down that path.” Bob Corker, the senator from Tennessee who chairs the Senate foreign relations committee, also initially said he was no longer responding to each one of Trump’s controversial statements.
  • (10) The Pope liked Benedictines and told Hume, when he demurred at the appointment, that he was asking him to accept "the call of the Lord."
  • (11) This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.” Trump demurred on Wednesday when asked if he would release his tax returns before the November election, saying it was “not a big deal” and that he had released 104 pages of documents related to his business dealings.
  • (12) The three Alexander McQueen outfits that made the most front pages from the Duchess of Cambridge's recent tour wardrobe were: a sky blue belted knee-length coat, accessorised with navy round-toe suede shoes and a matching clutch bag; a demure dove grey coat with a jaunty grey hat; and a ballet-shoe pink peplum top and skirt, which the duchess wore with LK Bennett courts and pearl drop earrings.
  • (13) Upon learning that an internal campaign memo had instructed surrogates to demur on questions about Trump University, Trump said in a conference call on Monday that they instead should attack journalists who raised the point.
  • (14) The alternative would be to break out of character at the end, and demurely ask for money – which, again, would rather break the spell.
  • (15) Accommodation was provided by Le Manoir in Gemenos (doubles from €90 a night), Domaine de Valbrillant in Meyreuil (from €75) and Le Demure Insoupconnée in Cassis (from €130).
  • (16) He has generally been seen as a Labour supporter and doesn't demur when I mention that perception, so would the coming of a Conservative government next year present problems for him?
  • (17) If the Italian is seen as high maintenance his appointment is also regarded as a high-stakes gamble on Short's part, but Di Canio demurred.
  • (18) "We should put a spit up his ass," said Susan Hennesy, a demure-looking software engineer who works a few blocks away.
  • (19) Bankers are seen as greedy, librarians as demure, journalists as sleazy, nurses as angels and estate agents as dishonest.
  • (20) That may have come as a surprise to the assembled dignitaries, but of course none demurred.

Shy


Definition:

  • (superl.) Easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird.
  • (superl.) Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
  • (superl.) Cautious; wary; suspicious.
  • (a.) To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses.
  • (v. t.) To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper.
  • (n.) A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
  • (n.) A side throw; a throw; a fling.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Philip Shaw, chief economist at broker Investec, expects CPI to hit 5.1%, just shy of the 5.2% reached in September 2008, as the utility hikes alone add 0.4% to inflation.
  • (2) The Vc was dramatically increased in the qk, slightly decreased in the shi, and close to control in the mld.
  • (3) Twellman has steadily grown in confidence as he settles into his role, though whether as a player or as an advocate he was never shy about voicing his opinions.
  • (4) It’s going to affect everybody.” The six songs from Rebel Heart released thus far do not shy away from controversy: one, Illuminati, mocks the various conspiracy theories on the internet that implicate a variety of entertainers – including Jay-Z and Lady Gaga – in membership of a shadowy ruling elite.
  • (5) But today, Americans increasingly no longer shy away from saying they oppose mosques on the grounds that Muslims are a threat or different.
  • (6) In general, we've shied away from offering opinions on the rest of the industry – I don't think it's appropriate.
  • (7) Never camera-shy, he also leaves his legacy on celluloid too.
  • (8) On the other hand, if past experience is anything to go by, this government isn’t shy of a U-turn ; and, if Whittingdale and his advisers aren’t completely deaf, they may at least detect that he would do well to keep the relish out of his voice as he announces the steps he intends to take.
  • (9) It’s as if they were a team away from the team, and they’re not shy of plugging into it.
  • (10) And just a few games shy of making history, the Warriors blew a 17-point lead and fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves – another team that didn’t even come close to making the playoffs – after forcing the game into overtime.
  • (11) She was a little shy as a child, a big reader who loved movies as much as books and thought from an early age that she would be a writer.
  • (12) By contrast, in Shy-Drager cases there was a highly significant reduction in intermediolateral column cells compared with the normal cords.
  • (13) A ceremony will take place at which Jolie will receive the child, who is said to be healthy, likeable, a bit shy and keen on football.
  • (14) A young, shy jihadi named Fouad took us into an abandoned building, where a meal was spread out on the floor.
  • (15) Sterling fell 1.3% against the dollar to $1.6495, just shy of a session low $1.6475.
  • (16) Estimates of panda numbers in the wild vary enormously due to the difficulty of collecting data about the notoriously shy animal, which lives in dense, high-altitude vegetation: the last survey required more than 35,000 volunteers.
  • (17) The move signals a change for Democrats , who have traditionally shied away from gun control in a state with a pioneer tradition of gun ownership.
  • (18) What's more, his genial stiffness and shy self-awareness give him a kind of awkward dignity compared to the preening smugness of Cruz.
  • (19) Pausing while much of the audience booed the protester, Obama responded: "We're not going to shy away from things that are uncomfortable."
  • (20) Another shy Tory, who teaches at a secondary school in north Kent, says she voted Ukip in the European elections.