DIFFIDENT • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Diffident

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adjective

Diffident adj.

Wanting confidence in others; distrustful. (Archaic) "You were always extremely diffident of their success."

Wanting confidence in one's self; distrustful of one's own powers; not self-reliant; timid; modest; bashful; characterized by modest reserve. "The diffident maidens, Folding their hands in prayer."

Synonyms: Distrustful; suspicious; hesitating; doubtful; modest; bashful; lowly; reserved.

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Etymology of 'Diffident'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Diffident" Quotes from Famous Books

... man whom she had last seen in the hall of Ramelton. There had been a timidity in his manner in those days, a peculiar diffidence, a continual expectation of other men's contempt, which had gone from him. He was now quietly self-possessed; not arrogant; on the other hand, not diffident. He had put himself to a long, hard test; and he knew that he had not failed. All that she saw; and her face ...

— The Four Feathers • A. E. W. Mason

... "Diffident, modest and correct," quoth Kit, critically, when she showed them to Anne. "Now, what are you going to eat, Anne? Isn't there something besides just plain tea? Couldn't we fix up some kind of ...

— Kit of Greenacre Farm • Izola Forrester

... put on any make-up and while she was still dressed in a simple summer gown of organdie, she looked as though she might have stepped into the room from the main street of some mid-Western town. In repose she was shy, diffident in appearance. When she smiled, naturally, without holding the hard lines of her vampire roles, there was the slight suggestion of a dimple, and she was essentially girlish. When a trace of emotion or feeling came into ...

— The Film Mystery • Arthur B. Reeve

... room, old voyagers were settling down comfortably while new voyagers were regarding them with a diffident respect. Among the passengers Coleman found a number of people whom he knew, including a wholesale wine merchant, a Chicago railway magnate and a New York millionaire. They lived practically in the smoking room. Necessity drove them from time to time to the salon, or to their berths. ...

— Active Service • Stephen Crane

... and diffident in the presence of such learning," said Miss Goodloe almost sleepily. "Why did I neglect my opportunities at ...

— Blister Jones • John Taintor Foote

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