as in shy
not comfortable around people
for someone who makes a living performing for other people, the actress is remarkably diffident in real life
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Recent Examples of diffident
Its complacency was personified by the Gandhi family, whose members dominated the Party but appeared diffident and out of touch.
—
Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Only a monumental defeat could stop South Africa qualifying for the semifinals so there was a rather diffident air to proceedings.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
In 2022, Quan starred as Waymond Wang, a seemingly diffident husband who transforms into a martial arts expert when crossing multiverses to save his family in the Daniels’ wild and emotional film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 4 Feb. 2025
Consider Chatterton’s Fields of This, an exemplary case study, as the hazy slacker rock the Oxnard, California, duo of guitarist-keyboardist Brock Pierce and multi-instrumentalist Logan Scrivner dream up is brash yet diffident.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
In the light of Rifkin’s diffident anguish, the heartfelt whimsy of these scenes plays like Allen’s own nostalgic reminiscence of his early, funny stuff—and of the way that his life used to be.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Watching an early appearance of Melanie on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson only left me more intrigued about her ambivalent relationship toward fame: How could the same person be so confident and charismatic behind a guitar, but so diffident and uncomfortable chatting with Carson?
—Joseph Fenity, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2024
Many Israelis are critical of his fractious handling of the country before the Oct. 7 attack and resent his diffident treatment of the families of hostages held in Gaza.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2024
The truculent and diffident teen-ager, all floppy hair and hormones, disruptively acts out his frustrations, while nonetheless becoming a good big brother to the two girls; meanwhile, his sparks of playful flirtation with Anne ignite an uncontrollable conflagration of desire.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2023
Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Only a monumental defeat could stop South Africa qualifying for the semifinals so there was a rather diffident air to proceedings.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
In 2022, Quan starred as Waymond Wang, a seemingly diffident husband who transforms into a martial arts expert when crossing multiverses to save his family in the Daniels’ wild and emotional film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 4 Feb. 2025
Consider Chatterton’s Fields of This, an exemplary case study, as the hazy slacker rock the Oxnard, California, duo of guitarist-keyboardist Brock Pierce and multi-instrumentalist Logan Scrivner dream up is brash yet diffident.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
In the light of Rifkin’s diffident anguish, the heartfelt whimsy of these scenes plays like Allen’s own nostalgic reminiscence of his early, funny stuff—and of the way that his life used to be.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Watching an early appearance of Melanie on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson only left me more intrigued about her ambivalent relationship toward fame: How could the same person be so confident and charismatic behind a guitar, but so diffident and uncomfortable chatting with Carson?
—Joseph Fenity, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2024
Many Israelis are critical of his fractious handling of the country before the Oct. 7 attack and resent his diffident treatment of the families of hostages held in Gaza.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2024
The truculent and diffident teen-ager, all floppy hair and hormones, disruptively acts out his frustrations, while nonetheless becoming a good big brother to the two girls; meanwhile, his sparks of playful flirtation with Anne ignite an uncontrollable conflagration of desire.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for diffident
Adjective
-
Domenica, was from Sicily and died just a few months shy of 100 years old.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
9 May 2025
-
His grandmother is also from Sicily and died just a few months shy of 100 years old.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
Its influence on the withdrawn protagonist, Jamie (played by Owen Cooper), is largely implied.—
Paula Mejía,
The Atlantic,
16 Apr. 2025
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The withdrawn San Francisco drama, about lonely nonbinary nanny and restaurant server Cass (Asia Kate Dillon), is simple in its presentation, but disguises numerous layers to its story.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Cher was bashful to be busted but then couldn’t help laughing out loud at the audacity.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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Or maybe the movie’s stars are just feeling a bit bashful!—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Diffident.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diffident. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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