as in timidity
the quality or state of lacking confidence or assertiveness
He met the girl's gaze with awkward diffidence.
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Recent Examples of diffidence
But Cropper’s diffidence about his abilities was the perfect mindset for a rhythm guitarist, whose job is to serve the song and the band rather than himself.
—
David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2025
Scott was completing a yearlong master’s program in mathematics, and Noone, a doctoral candidate five years his senior, was charmed by the contrast between his good looks and his diffidence.
—Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
And has done so with the kind of diffidence that can only come from a lifetime in the sports backwaters.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2025
The concern now is not diffidence in New Delhi, but diffidence in Washington.
—Nirupama Rao, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for diffidence
David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2025
Scott was completing a yearlong master’s program in mathematics, and Noone, a doctoral candidate five years his senior, was charmed by the contrast between his good looks and his diffidence.
—Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
And has done so with the kind of diffidence that can only come from a lifetime in the sports backwaters.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2025
The concern now is not diffidence in New Delhi, but diffidence in Washington.
—Nirupama Rao, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for diffidence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for diffidence
Noun
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But German timidity before Israel’s moral blackmail only partly explains Habermas’s callous attitude toward the country’s Palestinian victims.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Even in the face of Hollywood’s timidity, some American independent animators have managed to push their offbeat visions through as features made with limited resources.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The work ethic is there, but so are the routines, the quirks, the quietness, the edge.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
4 Apr. 2026
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This one strikes a mid-century chord with its wide face and retro time display, with an atomic dial and silent-sweep movement to maximize quietness.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
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In Killers of the Flower Moon, his Ernest Burkhart starts off as a mopey, weak-minded World War One veteran, eager to do anything for his godfather uncle (Robert De Niro), but there’s still a certain likability to his dim-bulb submissiveness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Xi Jinping has made strategic stockpiling a personal priority and directed state oil companies to expand crude reserves and accelerate the development of alternative supply chains.—
Eyck Freymann,
Time,
17 Apr. 2026
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The governor wants to take $500 million from a special savings program that builds reserves and reduces pension debt and redirect those funds to finance a $200-per-person tax rebate in late October — less than a week before Election Day.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Her skin—something known as Frubber, a porous patented blend of fleshlike elastic polymers—stretched over a structure of plastic and titanium, and there was no flicker of bashfulness.—
Dan Turello,
New Yorker,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The flood of reports sent to the DOJ after her solicitation overwhelmed the few remaining attorneys, who were forced to rush to meet a legal deadline requiring the division to examine all such submissions within 10 days of their filing.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
13 Apr. 2026
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The university also acknowledged two submissions that won honorable mentions.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In Atlanta, some people living with SAD, as well as social phobia or even simple shyness, are facing their fears in a novel way.—
Hunter Boyce,
AJC.com,
24 Mar. 2026
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But shyness and cluelessness kept me from making my rendezvous with the guy that was to aid in that connection.—
Jody Mamone,
Hartford Courant,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Diffidence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diffidence. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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