Today's Word "diffident"
Published in Vocabulary
diffident \DIF-uh-dunt; -dent\ (adjective) - 1 : Lacking self-confidence; distrustful of one's own powers; timid; bashful. 2 : Characterized by modest reserve; unassertive.
"But I am diffident. What's the good of saying I mustn't be diffident when I'm the man who wrote the words and music, when Diffidence is my middle name and my telegraphic address? I can't help being diffident." -- P.G. Wodehouse, 'The Salvation of George Mackintosh'
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.
Comments