DIFFIDENT: "lacking self-confidence; timid; unassertive"

By MsW

"Diffident" describes someone who lacks confidence in themselves or their abilities. It often involves feelings of shyness, hesitation, or a lack of assertiveness. The term comes from the Latin word "diffidere," meaning "to distrust" or "to lack confidence."

Sample sentences:

  • Her diffident nature prevented her from speaking up in large group discussions.

  • Despite his talent, he remained diffident about showcasing his artwork to the public.



















  • The diffident student was hesitant to ask questions in class, fearing judgment.

  • His diffident demeanor masked a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

  • Overcoming her diffidence, she stepped forward to take on a leadership role in the project.

Diffidence often involves a lack of confidence or self-assurance, leading to hesitancy or reluctance in certain situations.












Word of the Day for Wednesday, March 12, 2008

diffident \DIF-uh-dunt; -dent\, adjective:

1. Lacking self-confidence; distrustful of one's own powers; timid; bashful.
2. Characterized by modest reserve; unassertive.
He lived naturally in a condition that many greater poets never had, or if they had it, were embarrassed or diffident about it: a total commitment to his own powers of invention, a complete loss of himself in his materials.
-- James Dickey, "The Geek of Poetry", New York Times, December 23, 1979
This schism is embodied in Clarence's two sons: cheerful, pushy, book-ignorant Jared, a semicriminal entrepreneur who has caught "the rhythm of America to come" and for whom life is explained in brash epigrams from the trenches, versus slow, diffident Teddy, the town postman, uncomfortable with given notions of manhood, uncompetitive ("yet this seemed the only way to be an American") and disturbed that others misstate "the delicate nature of reality as he needed to grasp it for himself."
-- Julian Barnes, "Grand Illusion", New York Times, January 28, 1996

Minny was too delicate and diffident to ask her cousin outright to take her to Europe.
-- Brooke Allen, "Borrowed Lives", New York Times, May 16, 1999

Diffident is from the present participle of Latin diffidere, "to mistrust, to have no confidence," from dis- + fidere, "to trust." The noun form is diffidence.

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for diffident

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