face vs shy

face

verb
  • To cause (something) to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction. 

  • To make the surface of (anything) flat or smooth; to dress the face of (a stone, a casting, etc.); especially, in turning, to shape or smooth the flat (transverse) surface of, as distinguished from the cylindrical (axial) surface. 

  • To have the front in a certain direction. 

  • To arrange the products in (a store) so that they are tidy and attractive. 

  • To be presented or confronted with; to have in prospect. 

  • To deal with (a difficult situation or person); to accept (facts, reality, etc.) even when undesirable. 

  • To have as an opponent. 

  • To position oneself or itself so as to have one's face closest to (something). 

  • To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else). 

  • To be the batsman on strike. 

  • To line near the edge, especially with a different material. 

  • To cover in front, for ornament, protection, etc.; to put a facing upon. 

  • To cover with better, or better appearing, material than the mass consists of, for purpose of deception, as the surface of a box of tea, a barrel of sugar, etc. 

noun
  • A person; the self; (reflexively, objectifying) oneself. 

  • The front part of the head of a human or other animal, featuring the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the surrounding area. 

  • A headlining wrestler with a persona embodying heroic or virtuous traits and who is regarded as a "good guy", especially one who is handsome and well-conditioned; a baby face. 

  • The width of a pulley, or the length of a cog from end to end. 

  • The mouth. 

  • The side of the card that shows its value (as opposed to the back side, which looks the same on all cards of the deck). 

  • One's facial expression. 

  • A distorted facial expression; an expression of displeasure, insult, etc. 

  • A familiar or well-known person; a member of a particular scene, such as the music or fashion scene. 

  • The front surface of a bat. 

  • The amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, etc., without any interest or discount; face value. 

  • Shameless confidence; boldness; effrontery. 

  • Any surface, especially a front or outer one. 

  • The frontal aspect of something. 

  • The numbered dial of a clock or watch; the clock face. 

  • The part of a golf club that hits the ball. 

  • Public image; outward appearance. 

  • Presence; sight; front. 

  • An aspect of the character or nature of someone or something. 

  • Any of the flat bounding surfaces of a polyhedron; more generally, any of the bounding pieces of a polytope of any dimension. 

  • The directed force of something. 

  • Makeup; one's complete facial cosmetic application. 

  • The head of a lion, shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears. 

  • A typeface. 

  • A mode of regard, whether favourable or unfavourable; favour or anger. 

  • Good reputation; standing, in the eyes of others; dignity; prestige. (See lose face, save face). 

shy

verb
  • To throw sideways with a jerk; to fling. 

  • To avoid due to caution, embarrassment or timidness. 

  • (transitive) or (intransitive) To throw a ball with two hands above the head, especially when it has crossed the side lines in a football (soccer) match. To hit the ball back into play from the sidelines in a shinty match. 

  • To jump back in fear. 

adj
  • Easily frightened; timid. 

  • Embarrassed. 

  • Cautious; wary; suspicious. 

  • Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach. 

  • Short, insufficient or less than. 

noun
  • In the Eton College wall game, a point scored by lifting the ball against the wall in the calx. 

  • In soccer, a throw-in from the sidelines, using two hands above the head. In shinty, the act of tossing the ball above the head and hitting it with the shaft of the caman to bring it back into play after it has been hit out of the field. 

  • An act of throwing. 

  • A place for throwing. 

  • A sudden start aside, as by a horse. 

How often have the words face and shy occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )