diffidence - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: diffidence

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

dif·fi·dence

Audio Help [dif-i-duh

ns] Pronunciation Key

–noun

the quality or state of being diffident.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L diffīdentia mistrust, want of confidence. See diffident, -ence

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
diffidence

To learn more about diffidence visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

dif·fi·dence Audio Help (dĭf'ĭ-dəns, -děns') Pronunciation Key
n. The quality or state of being diffident; timidity or shyness.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
diffidence

1526, from L. diffidentia "want of confidence," from diffidere "to mistrust, lack confidence," from dis- "away" + fidere "to trust" (see faith). Modern sense is of "distrusting oneself" (1651). The original sense was the opposite of confidence.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

diffidence
noun
lack of self-confidence [ant: confidence]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Diffidence

Bash"ful*ness\, n. The quality of being bashful.

Syn: Bashfulness, Modesty, Diffidence, Shyness.

Usage: Modesty arises from a low estimate of ourselves; bashfulness is an abashment or agitation of the spirits at coming into contact with others; diffidence is produced by an undue degree of self-distrust; shyness usually arises from an excessive self-consciousness, and a painful impression that every one is looking at us. Modesty of deportment is becoming at all; bashfulness often gives rise to mistakes and blundering; diffidence is society frequently makes a man a burden to himself; shyness usually produces a reserve or distance which is often mistaken for haughtiness.

Browse Nearby Entries: