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Glite Dictionary
to come out of one's shell

to come out of one's shell

3 4.1
To become more confident and willing to talk to other people
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : salir de su caparazón
  • After a few weeks of practice, Emily finally began to come out of her shell and make new friends.
  • really come out of one's shell
  • finally came out of his shell
  • started to come out of his shell

Examples

  • One of his teachers kind of laughed nervously and said that he's really come out of his shell lately.

    Blog text (1)

  • Wouldn't you know it, Kendrick discovers she does like singing; she comes out of her shell a little bit, and she joins the girls.

    Blog text (19)

  • I guess love really makes a guy come out of his shell.

    The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

  • I was trying to get him to come out of his shell.

    Dead on Campus (2014)

  • He'll come out of his shell.

    Lancaster Skies (2019)

  • Heinrich seems to be coming out of his shell.

    White Noise (2022)

  • I guess she's finally coming out of her shell.

    Orphan (2009)

  • She needs to come out of her shell.

    Girl Asleep (2015)

  • She seemed to really be coming out of her shell and you seemed to like her.

    Blood Pi (2020)

  • Being away from home made her feel overly shy, but the Homestuck community gave her the confidence to come out of her shell.

    Blog text (21)

Synonyms

to open up
vsto come out of one's shell
  • Informal
149 2.9

Begin to talk honestly about your thoughts and feelings

is about becoming more socially outgoing rather than sharing inner feelings
to come into one's own
vsto come out of one's shell
8 6.3

To begin to use your skills and get recognition

is about becoming more outgoing and willing to interact rather than full achievement
to find one's feet
vsto come out of one's shell
  • Informal
5.6

To become comfortable and confident in a new job or place after some time

is growing more outgoing and willing to interact rather than adapting to new settings
to break out of one's comfort zone
vsto come out of one's shell
  • Informal
5.1

To do new or difficult things on purpose to learn and grow

is about growing more confident and outgoing rather than seeking challenges deliberately

Antonyms

to withdraw
466 2.8

To stop taking part in a place or activity

shy
343 1.0

Nervous and likely to avoid people or new situations

How Outgoing

to come out of one's shell
  • Informal
3 4.1
to open up
  • Informal
149 2.9

Surface Forms

come out of one's shell infinitive
came out of one's shell past
come out of one's shell past participle
coming out of one's shell present participle
comes out of one's shell third person singular

Morphology

come + out + of + one + shell

The literal parts ('come' + 'out' + 'shell') readily evoke the image of leaving a protective covering, and many languages use the same metaphor for becoming less shy, so learners who know the words can often infer the social meaning. However, the use of 'shell' as a metaphor for shyness requires a figurative mapping that is not strictly compositional, so the sense is accessible but not fully predictable without some exposure.

Etymology

The idiom come out of one's shell may come from the image of a shy animal, like a turtle or hermit crab, that hides inside its shell. When the animal feels safe it slowly comes out, so the phrase now means 'to become more confident and outgoing'.