1
do sth sheepishly
sheepishly 常用在动词后，表示动作带着羞怯或尴尬。
He smiled sheepishly when he realized his mistake.
他意识到自己犯了错，羞怯地笑了笑。
羞怯地；忸怩地
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
羞怯地；忸怩地
in a sheepish manner
He smiled sheepishly when he realized his mistake.
他意识到自己犯了错，羞怯地笑了笑。
害羞地；腼腆地；尴尬地。
In a sheepish way; shyly; meekly; bashfully; self-consciously; with embarrassment.
After he spilled juice on the table, he smiled sheepishly and cleaned it up.
他把果汁洒在桌子上后，羞怯地笑了笑，然后收拾干净。
She sheepishly admitted that she had forgotten to bring the tickets.
她忸怩地承认自己忘了带票。
The student looked down and answered sheepishly when the teacher asked why he was late.
当老师问他为什么迟到时，那个学生低下头，羞怯地回答。
sheepishly 常用在动词后，表示动作带着羞怯或尴尬。
He smiled sheepishly when he realized his mistake.
他意识到自己犯了错，羞怯地笑了笑。
也可放在动词前，强调这种忸怩、不好意思的状态。
She sheepishly admitted that she had forgotten the meeting.
她不好意思地承认自己忘了开会。
Not this
He smiled sheepish at the compliment.
Use this
He smiled sheepishly at the compliment.
修饰动词 smiled 应用副词 sheepishly，而 sheepish 是形容词，不能修饰动词。中文学习者常受汉语影响忽略副词形式，需用副词形式。
Not this
She is very sheepishly about her mistake.
Use this
She is very sheepish about her mistake.
系动词 is 后用形容词作表语，sheepishly 是副词，不能作表语；表示“羞怯的/忸怩的”应用 sheepish。
Not this
He sheepishly forgot his keys at home.
Use this
He foolishly forgot his keys at home.
想表达“愚蠢地”时，不能使用 sheepishly；sheepishly 意为“羞怯地、忸怩地”，没有“愚蠢地”的现代常用义。应改用 foolishly。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
羞怯地微笑
He smiled sheepishly when she caught him staring.
被她发现他在偷看时，他羞怯地笑了。
忸怩地咧嘴笑
Tom grinned sheepishly and admitted he had forgotten the meeting.
汤姆忸怩地咧嘴一笑，承认自己忘了开会。
羞怯地承认
She sheepishly admitted that she had broken the vase.
她羞怯地承认自己打碎了花瓶。
不好意思地看着某人
He looked sheepishly at his teacher.
他不好意思地看着老师。
不好意思地说
"I forgot your birthday," he said sheepishly.
“我忘了你的生日，”他不好意思地说。
Use sheepishly naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想：sheep是绵羊，绵羊胆小怕羞——sheepishly就是像绵羊一样羞怯、忸怩地做事。
语域：neutral 常见场景：日常叙述、口语道歉、轻松书面描写 通常用于描述某人因尴尬或羞愧而表现出的神态或动作，语气偏中性、略带口语色彩；多用于日常叙述、口语道歉或轻松的书面描写。
sheepish 与 sheepishly 除末尾 -ly 外读音一致；sheep 与目标词开头读音相同。foolishly、stylishly、devilishly、boyishly 都以 -ishly 结尾，拼写相近，末尾都读 /ɪʃli/，但重音和元音不同，不能视为与 sheepishly 押韵。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.